


Life That I Know

by Squirrel_Kiln



Category: Coraline (2009), Gravity Falls, ParaNorman (2012)
Genre: College AU, Demons, F/M, Gen, Ghosts, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, M/M, Mentions of murder and torture, Mystery Kids, Possession, all the fun stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2019-06-14
Packaged: 2019-08-05 15:38:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16370372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squirrel_Kiln/pseuds/Squirrel_Kiln
Summary: In which after five years, the Pines twins need Norman's help.The Mystery Kids never broke up, though they drifted apart as the years went by. But then, after years of no contact, Norman gets a call asking for help on a murder case that left everyone stumped.Of course the medium accepts with hopes of reviving their relationships, but a brewing storm seems to disrupt their reunion.





	1. Friday.

It's not like the ghosts went away when Norman left home. They just didn't  _ do _ as much.

Every ghost in his hometown recognized him, considering he was the only who could see them, and gave him a greeting every time he passed by. It was still kind of weird, even after most everyone stopped insulting him for it.

Not that he didn't  _ like  _ Blithe Hollow or its dead residents, the place was too small and just couldn't let him go into crime scene investigation like he wanted. 

Not that anyone  _ wanted _ him to--his mom wanted him to do something nicer like teaching and his dad thought the local PD was better. However, Norman figured a career that used his abilities was the best thing he could do.

And really, Norman didn't think college was as hard as everyone said. Sure, he had a lot of classes and work but it was necessary for the job, right? Another step on the ladder. They were kinda fun anyway… Even then, winter break was a relief. A couple weeks of rest would be  _ greatly _ appreciated.

The only bad part about it was that he didn't have anyone to spend it with. Not even the ghosts in the area were talkative, none paid him enough mind to say their name or ask for his.

He didn't really want to go home. Of course he wanted to see his family and the friends that stayed there, but… something felt  _ wrong _ . As if going home would cause everything to go to straight to Hell. He wanted to wait first to be safe, he didn't want to endanger anybody.

Norman snapped out of his thoughts when people pushed past him to leave the room. Oh, right, he was still in class. He quickly shoved all the papers in front of him into folders, shoved those folders and notebooks into his bag. He said bye to the professor who smiled in return and struggled to close his bag as he went out the door.

He took a deep gulp of the winter air--it was his last class of the day and he desperately wanted to get back to his dorm as if he was timed. His lovely, tiny dorm that didn't have insulation and was always the wrong temperature. Home for the time being.

Norman flinched when his phone started ringing. He pulled out but didn't recognize the number so he turned it off and put it back in his pocket. He took only two steps before happened again, again, and once more before he finally answered.

“H-hey, I don't know who you are but--” he started to speak before the person on the other line interrupted.

“Norman Babcock?” A girl asked.

“Um… yeah. Yeah, who is this? You're not saved on my phone.” Norman slowly continued walking. A gasp came from the girl on the other line and he heard her whispering something to someone, though he couldn't make out the words. Norman turned and waved at the ghost of a girl whose head was separated from her shoulders. She only gave him a sad look and turned away.

“Okay, okay, it's gonna sound crazy but it's Mabel Pines. You know, from Gravity Falls?” Norman stopped in place. The sidewalk was slick with frost even this late in the day and he could feel his feet sliding a bit. It would probably snow soon.

“Mabel? How did you get my number?” He immediately winced at his words.

_ I think that's considered rude _ , he thought.

“It's a long story,” Mabel replied vaguely enough.

“I have time if you do.” Norman forced another breath into his lungs and continued walking. Again. The clouds were plump and gray, and Norman had a feeling a real storm was coming.

Norman remembered the Pines twins very well--after all, one of them gave him his first kiss and first date and first love… alongside first heartbreak. Good times, really.

“Um, well… can you talk right now or should I--” Mabel was cut off when a voice interrupted her. There was some muffled arguing before someone else spoke through the phone.

“Norman, we have a problem and you're the only one who can help us.” Norman's breath caught at what he assumed was Dipper’s voice. Puberty must have done him well, his voice was deeper and came out smoother.

“Why--uh, why me?” Norman gulped. He felt like he was getting scolded by his dad, considering the way Dipper was talking to him.

“The rest of the Mystery Kids are MIA, except Coraline but she's on the ropes. We have a lot of pissed off poltergeists here and we can't handle it ourselves.” Dipper was to the point. 

“Polter--” Norman remembered he was still in public and lowered his voice. “Poltergeist? How can you be sure?”

“Several people died here and no one knows how, their bodies just showed up. Now people are getting shoved down the stairs, over railings, falling face first into whatever sharp thing happened to be sitting straight up. What do  _ you  _ think?” Norman was wincing at how harshly the man was talking (it was weird to think of him as a ‘man’ considering they hadn't seen each other since the Pines were 16 and Norman 15. That means… they would be 21 now. Okay, that's fair, he could be called man.) 

“ _ Dipper! _ ” Norman could hear Mabel scolding her brother before taking the phone back. “I'm sorry for how he's acting, we're just really desperate to fix this problem before more people get hurt.” Norman could hear her pleading. She had always been good at persuasion.

“Um… I don't know if I can. I have school and-and I can't afford a plane ride right now.” Norman muttered. He fumbled with his keys and opened the dorm house door, then his own room. He dropped his heavy bag on the floor with a loud  _ thuck _ .

“It shouldn't take longer than winter break. And we can cover your ticket, you can just stay with us in the meantime.” Mabel always had a solution in mind, didn't she? She really was a wonderful girl. 

“Uh… but…” Norman searched his brain for any other excuse but fell short. He sighed in defeat and nodded, then spoke when he remembered he was on the phone. “... Okay, I'll help.”

“Thank you so much! It's like a reunion for the Mystery Kids!” Mabel cheered. Norman smiled besides himself--she always had that effect.

“I guess so… um, when should I come out?”

“Today, obviously.”

“What? But I--” Norman paused. He wouldn't have anything to do besides go home, which he did a lot anyway. He frowned and walked over to the shelf above his desk. He stared at the doll on it before sighing. “Okay. Okay, sure, I'm gonna have to pack first.”

“Oh, uh, right. Bring your jacket, it's winter in Oregon and it is  _ not  _ being gentle.” She laughed. Yet again Norman felt himself smiling. She had such a good way of making everyone around her happy.

“Got it. Um, I have to go for now but I'll call you back later.”

“Awesome! Well, this is actually Dipper’s phone, so you'll probably get him instead.

“... Then… why were you the one to call me?”

“He's not really good at persuasion--don't give me that look, Dip, you know it's true. Okay, well, bye!”

“Bye.” He waited on the phone until she hung up. He turned off his phone and sighed.

“So much for a break, huh, Agatha?” Norman spoke softly and smiled at the doll. It stared blankly back through its button eyes. Norman turned and immediately began packing the little things he had into his little bag, all the while wondering what the Mystery Twins looked like now, especially if--

Norman shook his head when a less than appropriate thought arose. He put his medicine in his suitcase, paused, then turned and emptied out his backpack.

“Knowing the twins,” he said to no one as he filled the bag with important adventure stuff. “This bag is gonna save my life.”


	2. Chapter 2

Norman found out very quickly he didn't like neither airports nor planes. It was a surprisingly fast venture, but all the people there… It was gross. Some guy had his feet in soup, for example. That was worse than any ghost he could have seen.

The plane ride wasn't exactly relaxing, either. Norman figured this plane was built from scrap parts because he could vaguely see bits of a green glow everywhere. Wisps of what was, at one point, the ghost of a person. Norman shuddered at the realization and looked out the window instead.

_ Five years,  _ Norman thought with a grimace.  _ It's been five years since the Mystery Kids, nine years since the Curse… What if this is the storm I was worried about? What if this was all a trick and I'm going to the middle of nowhere to be kidnapped? Or worse? _

Although the anxieties were building up in his chest he knew there was someone he could trust out there. Even if their breakup had been ugly, he could always trust his favorite Pines twin. Though, he probably wouldn't tell either he had a favorite.

He wondered if either of them still liked him. If they didn't, Mabel would still be polite, but Dipper would let him know. He frowned at the thought.

_ I’m just going to pretend they still like me,  _ he decided with a nod of finality. Norman stared at the ceiling at what looked like a hand before shutting his eyes. It was a long flight, yet he didn't really think he could sleep. He could hardly sleep on car rides, after all, how could he sleep on his first plane ride?

And yet when he turned to look out the window, he felt his eyes getting tired. Norman didn't sleep much, and especially didn't take naps, but… Well, this would be a welcome exception.

 

_ “You can't help us,” several voices moaned in despair. _

_ “Who are you? Where am I?” Norman felt like he was floating, like he was in a pool. When he looked around, he saw marble floors and tapestries with what looked like family crests on them pinned to winding pillars. When he looked forward again, he could see five people huddled together. Although the room was warm enough to be suffocating, they were all shivering. Thick chains connected them together at the legs. _

_ Norman was shocked--although they all had the signature green glow of a ghosts, parts of their bodies were solid. He had a feeling if he reached out they would be tangible. He didn't have to see ghosts to feel the fear in the room. _

_ “Run, _ run! _ ” They all cried. _

_ “I want to help you!” He found himself saying without really speaking. _

_ “He's coming back! Run, before it's too late!” Their voices were amalgamated together grossly--he could make out individual voices, but focusing on one for too long made it sound like the others. Although their voices were obviously fearful, it sounded as if he was listening to them from far away--dead words on a dead frequency. _

_ “No! We can leave together!” Norman reached out toward the figures before his vision went black. He heard a deep, dark chuckle individual from the mass. The figures cried together, begging for something not to happen. _

_ Norman wanted to fight back but suddenly his head hurt too badly. The voices cried out but were quickly silenced. _

_ “No, no!” Norman felt around blindly for something, anyone, whatever he could find but was met with nothing. He couldn't even begin to describe how miserable he felt, how guilty. He could have done more. He could have saved them. He could have-- _

 

“Excuse me, we've landed.” Someone gently shook Norman's arm. Norman's blue eyes flew open and he looked around--the stranger was right, the window showed the barren snow-covered concrete of an airport loading zone. Norman wiped the wisps of his dream from his eyes and thanked the stranger. He picked his bag from from under his seat and from above it and hurried to get off.

Norman realized quickly he didn't know what to do. He realized that a lot recently, it felt like.

He took out his phone and checked the recent call log. He didn't get any calls since he had taken off, thankfully, but he stared at the most recent. He messed with his phone to make the recent into a new contact.

_ Dipper Pines. _

Norman took in a deep breath. He didn't have any recent pictures of him so he decided on making his contact a picture of Mothman. Dipper would like that, right?... Right. He hoped Dipper was still into cryptids and ghosts and everything. He wouldn't know what else to talk about if not.

Norman's finger hovered over the “call back” button for far too long. He shut his eyes and pretended that Mabel would be the one to pick up--she would greet him with some joke and tell him what to do. Yeah, that would happen.

Instead, the person who picked up right before the call went to voicemail gave a pissy, distracted “who is it?”

“Um… Hey, uh, hey, it's Norman.” Norman's throat seized up. Dipper was quiet for a moment on the other end of the line.

“So you've landed, huh? How do you like Portland Airport?” Norman could tell he was in a car. Or moving, at least.

“It's, uh, it's definitely better than JFK.” Norman laughed softly. Another moment of silence and the phone's microphone was covered as he said something.

“Sorry. Yeah, airports suck, um… We're in the parking lot right now. What exit are you by?”

“Uh, 8B? I think.” Norman looked around for signs.

“Fuck. Um, okay, even O’Hare makes more sense than this place…” Norman covered his mouth with his hand so he wouldn't laugh. For some reason, he thought Dipper cursing was funny. “Wait by the door. Mabel will get you.”

“Which door?” 

“I don't know, one of them. How many can there be?”

The answer was ‘many’ but Norman said nothing.

“Okay. I'll call if I got lost.” Norman was already lost but again, said nothing. Dipper hung up the phone and Norman was left to wander to the nearest exit. He waited for a bit and decided to sit on the ground beside the wall to wait more. Though the wind was biting, he didn't feel it.

He had his headphones in so he only noticed someone was standing in front of him when a shadow covered him. He opened his eyes and glanced up at the face of the person. Smiling down brightly at him was none other than Mabel Pines. He noticed immediately how much darker her hair was, her lack of braces, and her much more stylish sense of clothing.

Norman stumbled to his feet and found that his mouth was dry and he was at a lack of words. He tried saying, “Hi, Mabel, it's been a while! I missed you!” but what came out was “Uh, um, hi.”

“Hey there, Paranorman. Long time no see!”


	3. Chapter 3

“You, uh-y’know, I'm really surprised you remember that nickname.” Norman smiled at Mabel as she led him back to the car. He still couldn't get how much more mature she looked (in the most platonic way possible, mind you). She was so different and yet still so Mabel. Norman figured he looked pretty different, too.

“Of course I remember!” She laughed. “I remember every embarrassing thing that happened five years ago.”

“Oh, great. I totally wanted to hear about the time I tried talking to a dead cow.” He put on a mock grimace but laughed anyway.

“In your defense, it really looked like a talkative cow.” She put her hands in her sweaters pockets. She looked pretty not-cold in her thick clothes. Norman probably should have taken her warning about the weather more seriously. “Are you cold?”

“A little. It's my fault.” He shrugged. “I'll be fine.”

“If you say so. You can borrow some clothes if you have to,” Mabel said before stopping at a black car. She opened the trunk for him. “Do you want me to stay in back with you?”

“No, I'll be fine. Thank you.” Norman kept his backpack on but put his suitcase in. He shut the trunk as Mabel got into the passenger seat. Norman desperately tried not to make eye contact with the driver and got in the back seat behind him. The twins hissed some things at each other for a moment before Dipper sighed. Dipper reached over to turn up the heat and Norman was surprised to see tattoos up his arm. He got _tattoos?_ Man, why didn't Norman think of doing that?

“Hey, Norman. It's been a while, huh?” Dipper turned around in his seat to look at him. Norman gripped his bag to his chest as his stomach jumped. _He's so handsome. He's_ so _handsome._

“J-just a bit, yeah.” He gave what he hoped was a believable smile. He heard friends talk about how awkward it was talking to exes but he never really realized how bad it really was. He did now, staring at Dipper.

Mabel gave the two a weird look when they stared at each other for a little too long.

“Uh, knock knock. Are you guys seriously still spacing out like you did? Is that a contagious thing?” Mabel raised an eyebrow. Norman quickly looked down at his lap with a red face and clutched the bag. Dipper sighed and pulled out of the parking lot.

“... S-so, uh, the ghosts.” Norman cleared his throat.

“Poltergeists,” Dipper reminded him.

“... Right. Sorry. Poltergeists.”

“Basically, these five bodies were found. They were all students at our school that went missing week by week starting in November.” Dipper explained. Norman noticed his phone was connected to the Bluetooth on the radio and was faintly playing rock music. He didn't know what band but it sounded good.

“But two weeks ago all five bodies were found. They had--hold on.” Mabel had continued where Dipper left off, but now she was reading from a moleskine notebook. “Superficial bruising around their ankles, about two inches thick on every person. Each person was missing like, sections of their bodies but the wounds were all clean. Cause of death wasn't determined.”

“Five people? Chained together?” Norman remembered his dream.

“Chained?” Dipper glanced at Norman in the mirror. “We didn't say anything about chains.”

“I mean, it would make sense. There would be rope burns if they were held with that instead. Or maybe it was like, huge zip ties?” Mabel suggested.

“No… it was chains.” Norman took a deep breath.

“How would you know that?” Dipper frowned. “You okay?”

“... I know it because I _saw_ them in the chains.” Although the car had become quite warm, Norman was shivering. The twins fell silent as Norman recounted the dream he had on the plane, about the five people in a sick state between dead and alive.

“... Have you always had these kind of dreams?” Dipper said long after Norman finished. It was almost funny and Norman wondered if it was supposed to be somewhat comedic.

“Uh, no. Not-um, not really… it just kinda happens sometimes. I mean, sometimes I get a dream about where I lost my charger but that's all. Nothing this intense until today...” Norman shrugged and messed with his hands.

“Whoa! That's so cool! When did it start?” Mabel turned in her seat to look at Norman in wonder. He smiled and shrugged again.

“I don't know, since my sixteenth birthday?” Norman looked out the window. It had started snowing again, thick and slow.

“Aw, cool! Hey, are you hungry? We got this pizza before you called and it's super good. Say yes. Please, there's so much.”  Mabel looked a little regretful. Norman laughed and nodded, considering how much Mabel liked to eat it was weird for her to ask for help. At his laugh, Mabel grinned. “Man, I missed this. I can't believe we let ourselves get outta touch.”

“I'm sorry.” Norman always felt guilty about never talking to his friends…

“Oh! No, Norman, I wasn't--ah I sound like a douche. It's not anyone's fault, life just got in the way.” Mabel gave him a reassuring smile. Norman had a feeling that the Mystery Kids wouldn't last two minutes together without her help. Truly, she was a god send.

“Yeah, I guess so… Do you know about everyone else?”

“Sorta. Coraline said she might be able to but her band is busy--” Norman nodded. He had heard about his old friend's new band but her music was too strong for him. “Wirt said he's okay to come down if we need him, though Greg is in Illinois.”

“Isn't it weird how many of us lived in Oregon?” Norman laughed softly. Of course, he was the only one at the time who lived in Massachusetts, which was on the other end of the country. He lived in New York now but that wasn't exactly closer.

“Made our family reunions easier.” Dipper agreed. He paused for a moment. “... You know what I mean.”

“Yeah. Family.” Norman smiled. He vaguely remembered that Dipper did a report on Freudian Slips once (in the middle of the summer no less). It was funny how unintentionally funny he was. Or maybe Norman only found him funny because he was cute? Oh, that wasn't the way to think. Dipper probably had a, a girlfriend by now…

“Ooh! Ooh! Norman, are you looking? There's a dog!” Mabel had her phone camera facing out the window to picture someone jogging with their dog. Norman had to admit, even though he was squinting through the snow the dog was pretty. But then his mouth fell open in shock at the building behind.

There, standing boldly through the weather, was what almost looked like a cathedral. A large, old, beautiful brick university that took Norman's breath away when he saw it.

“This is your college?” Norman said through a breath.

“Mmhm. Gilding University, Oregon.” Dipper sounded proud in the strange way college students are.

_It looks nothing like my dream_ , said an absent thought. However, he was still too amazed by the building to say anything about it.


	4. Chapter 4

“Are you sure I'm allowed to be here?” Norman asked Mabel as he looked around the inside of the castle-like university.

“Oh, yeah, totally, as long as you don't like, commit arson.” Mabel said casually, as if that was his first plan. Norman smiled and nodded, finally bringing his eyes down to the mildly crowded building. Mabel had explained that Norman would be staying with them in their dorms. Well, he'd have to “sleep” in Dipper's room because of rules--technically the twins shared a linked room.

“... Worry about it being clean, I made sure it was before we called…” Norman only realized he wasn't paying attention to the correct twin when kept missing Mabel's conversation. He couldn't help it--the twins had their own level of speed walking that he couldn't keep up with, so he watched instead. Sure, he only watched Dipper, but he watched.

_ Since we've gotten inside, Dipper rolled his sleeves up and has continuously put his hands in and out of his pockets,  _ Norman's absolutely non-stalkerish thoughts flew without reason. They did that a lot and he didn't exactly put much effort into stopping him.  _ He's probably uncomfortable and thinking fast, and since he has nothing to do with his hands he keeps putting him in his pockets… _

“... But since we're siblings they let the rules slide some, since the guy's side of the dorms is pretty empty compared to the girl's side.” When the twins stopped at a set of doors, Norman smiled when they pulled out their keychains simultaneously. He found the twin habits funny, as well as the obvious difference in keychains. Think “Twin Peaks” vs “90’s Arcade Carpet.”

“Like she said, I, ah, I tried cleaning up. It's Mabel approved.” Dipper pushed in the door to show what Norman was already expecting. Although it was larger than his own, Dipper's dorm was about the size of an average room. He was surprised to see a sort of kitchen getup in one part of the room, but wasn't surprised to see the mounds of books everywhere.

“You'll have to excuse the million editions of Nerd Weekly always on his everything.” Mabel laughed and went into her own room. Norman noticed a doorway that joined the two rooms and how the door on Dipper's side was hardly open.

“You can put your stuff wherever.” Dipper shoved his keys in his pockets along with his hands, obviously uncomfortable having someone beside his sister in his  _ space. _

“Vague enough to be helpful,” Norman nodded and put his things to the side. After a glance to Dipper, he smiled. “That was a joke.”

“Oh. Right.” Norman thought the man was blushing but couldn't determine when he turned around to pretend to organize the books on the counter. Mabel stepped through the conjoined doorway and looked at Norman.

“‘Course, you don't  _ have  _ to stay in here all the time. We won't say anything if you hang out in my room.” Mabel smiled kindly. Norman silently thanked her for giving him a way out if need be and nodded in response.

“I guess you're-you're still into supernatural stuff?” Norman cringed at his own voice.  _ ‘Supernatural stuff _ ?’ Smooth, Norman.

“As if we would ever fall out of it,” Mabel chuckled and flicked hair out of her face. “The supernatural finds us whether we want to or not.”

“Ah… same here.” Norman smiled. “I'm, uh, trying to be a CSI. What about you guys?”

“Dip is going into forensic science. And  _ I  _ am going into criminal law,” Mabel said proudly.

“... At the same school?”

“Don't point out the continuity errors, Norm, just let it be.” Mabel gave a knowing wink that left him confused.

“... Right. Are we gonna get straight into things? I didn't see anyone on the way here. Any ghosts. Too many people.”

“It calms down later in the day. Break just started so everyone's trying to escape,” Dipper said as he shoved some books from a couch onto a bookshelf. It was still very messy but Norman figured it was the student's way of being organized. Low-maintenance, maybe, but organized.

“Ah, okay. Same here. Though, my uni is uh, it's a bit smaller.” Norman was impressed by the amount of books on the shelves, in addition to the ones on every surface that  _ wasn't  _ a shelf. It was all very… Dipper.

“Funny how we all ended up in crime business, right?” Mabel gave a wide grin. “Us three, at least. Last I heard, Wirt’s, like, a high class babysitter--”

“Pediatric nurse,” Dipper corrected.

“Sorry. Well-educated babysitter. Coraline did something with computers so she can hack shit now. Isn't that cool?”

“That sounds like her, no doubt.” Norman laughed softly. Of course Coraline would study something she could use to her personal advantage… breaking the rules in the most legal way possible. Smart.

“How's Neil doing?” Dipper sat down on his bed.

“He's, uh, he's well,” Norman lied. He didn't want to admit he hadn't talked to his best friend in a while. He hadn't really talked to anyone for a while. If he told the truth he'd have to explain why, and he didn't even know himself.

“We miss our east coast kids!” Mabel sighed dramatically and slid down the doorway. “I dare say, being without you for so long was… was… Dipper, what's a word for a horrible experience?”

“Disappointing? Horrendous? Traumatizing?” Dipper offered.

“Yes! Traumatizing!” Mabel looked away dramatically.

“I missed you guys so much,” Norman said with the largest smile he'd had in a while. Mabel stood up again and fixed her sweater, returning his smile.

“Same here! You should recruit more Mystery Kids out by you so we can have an east coast division.”

“We have divisions?”

“We will, as soon as you recruit someone.” Mabel winked.

“I'll get right to it as soon as I get back.” Norman promised with a laugh.

“I was gonna suggest a tour but I think it would be best to have you get settled for a bit. I'm gonna go clean some stuff up.” Mabel winked at Norman and he wondered if she was truly winking or if she had something in her eye. By the sick grin she gave him, he figured it was the former. She closed her door.

“Oh, great.” He whispered.  _ Does she know? We were so  _ careful.

“Hope you don't mind me doing some research,” Dipper said as he typed away at the laptop Norman didn't see him pull out.

“Uh, no. You're fine. What are you looking up?”

“I'm trying to see if there's any blueprints of the school, any locked files…” Dipper trailed off. His fingers suddenly stopped and he glanced up at Norman. “You can sit down, you know.”

“Oh! Uh… sorry. Sorry. Where should I…?” There was a couple of folding chairs on the wall and a thin couch facing a TV. Dipper looked around before moving over on his bed.

“You might as well see what I have written down on this case… don't tell anyone about it, I took the files illegally.” Dipper spoke casually. Norman smiled and carefully sat down a distance from Dipper--he didn't want to overstep boundaries.

Dipper looked at him for a moment and moved closer anyways. He moved his laptop so Norman could see the screen and started explaining a very full document. Norman nodded and listened, knowing it was better to let Dipper rant until the end to chip in.

“Basically, the cause of death is unknown. They can't tell how the body parts were removed, but the void areas were held together with wire. I was originally thinking cauterization, but there's no burning. The wounds just… stop. They haven't found the pieces yet and it's not large enough to reproduce a body.”

“Demon, maybe? Hopefully it's not, uh, our favorite dream demon.” Norman shuddered at the memory of Bill Cipher. He had avoided thinking about him for years.

“No. No, definitely not.” Dipper shook his head enthusiastically in agreement.

“Um… Then, maybe another? If-if it is another demon or something, then how would we figure that out? How many people go to this school?”

“22,480 last time I checked. Not including the near 7,200 faculty members, the temporary employees, or the people who come here for extra classes that aren't enrolled.” Dipper let out a deep sigh.

“Considering the… details, this guy is experienced or has help. He's either older or young and stupid with demonic intervention.”

“... So it really could be anyone,” Dipper summarized.

“Yep.” Norman agreed glumly, already disappointed in this investigation.

“... Hey. Don't bum yourself out over it.” Dipper gently nudged Norman with his elbow. “You just got here, after all. Forensics are hard enough without magic involved.”

“... You're right. Thank you. Maybe I should take a look around soon, see if anybody has any information.” Dipper nodded, already understanding he meant ghosts.

“Good idea. I'll stay here, have Mabel. She knows this place better than I do.” Dipper looked back to his computer and added to his document.

‘ _ Demon? God? _ ’ Were the only things Norman read before he got up and went to Mabel's room to talk to her.

“You guys get anything done?” Mabel was sitting at a table in her very comfortable looking dorm. There were lots of complimentary colors. She was on her phone and eating pizza, not even looking up when she spoke.

“Uh, more or less… I was thinking we walk around together and look for ghosts to talk to.”

“Oh! Good idea. It's gonna be crowded still, be warned.” Mabel quickly finished her slice. “Want some pizza?”

“... Maybe later, thank you.” Norman followed Mabel out of the dorm room and back onto the college floors. He took a deep breath.

_ A storm is coming,  _ a distant thought warned him.


	5. .5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy American Thanksgiving

“He's so intriguing, don't you agree?” Dipper ignored the voice that sang to him when Mabel's door shut, when the set of footsteps faded. “I don't know how you fucked _that_ up so badly. He's a keeper, if I do say so myself.”

“What do you want?” Dipper sighed. He wouldn't have looked up from his computer, had the demon not grabbed his jaw and forced it up. Dipper glared in the face of the demon he made a Deal with not even a week ago.

“So harsh... I wouldn't mind taking him as payment, you know. The things I could do with that boy…” He hummed.

“You keep away from him,” Dipper growled. The demon’s claws pushed into the sides of his face, reminding him of his vulnerable state at the moment.

“I'll do what I want,” the demon replied. His toying tone was gone, replaced instead with a flat, unamused tone.

“Not without me you won't. We both know damn well you won't be able to even possess him without me.” Dipper laid out the truth. The demon let out a hiss through his teeth and let go of his face. Though he wouldn't let it show, the demon's grip had hurt. The ghost of his razor sharp nails felt like fire.

“Yes, yes, only for now.” The demon sneered. The creature reclined in the air as if sitting down.

“We made a Deal. You can't show yourself to them,” Dipper said strictly. Strict as he could with his shaking voice. When he didn't get a response, he huffed. “Bill. The Deal’s conditions said--”

“Whatever. You're so _boring_ . Besides, you know I only have eyes for you… or, well, _eye._ ” The demon snickered. “I will _so_ enjoy having your body when this is over.”

“The feeling has yet to be mutual.” Though he was the one who made the condition, a shudder ran through Dipper's body at the reminder.

“Mmhm. Sure.” Bill Cipher stood up and leaned over Dipper's laptop. “Twelve days, Pine Tree.”

Dipper said nothing. He forced his eyes back to the computer screen.

“Twelve days until you're mine forever.”

Dipper didn't look up for what felt like hours. When he did, the demon had been long gone. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I'm doing this for them,” he reminded himself. Even though he had told himself that multiple times before, he was starting to believe himself less and less. “For him.”


	6. Chapter 6

“How do you find your way around this place?” Norman carefully held onto the sleeve of Mabel's sweater as she walked around.

“You make your own maps. Everyone has their own, give or take.” Mabel explained with a wave of her hand. “Dipper really outdid his but we match notes on hidden passages.”

“Whoa! That sounds cool!” Norman gasped.

“Yeah! The guy who made this place intended it to be, like, an actual castle but he went senile and the family sold it to the state. Isn't _that_ cool?”

“Yeah! My college is just… uh, a college, I guess.” Norman wondered if he always felt this mediocre around the twins.

“Not everyone can have their own Hogwarts.” Mabel hummed. “...  I could show you some of the passages? Maybe they'll have more ghosts than the open rooms. After all, a lot of them are only hidden because they don't want the public going there. Ghosts may not realize that.”

“That's a good idea. I haven't seen anyone out here yet.” Norman agreed. Of course, it would be a better idea to look in the legal areas first... “Wait. Is this against the rules?”

The two students gave each other a considering look. They then burst out in laughter and Norman continued to follow Mabel. Eventually, after winding through quite a few hallways, they ended up at a dead end with a tapestry covering one wall.

“I haven't been here for a while so… mm, give me a moment.” Mabel stuck out her lip in concentration, muttering to herself as she counted the bricks on the walls. “Was it… three up, seven right? No, I already tried that…”

Norman watched her for a bit when he shivered. He suddenly reached out and pressed in a stone. With the slightest touch, it sunk into the wall. Mabel gave him a confused look, but quickly jumped over to him when a shifting stone was heard.

“Did you--how did you know that was the trigger?” Mabel looked at Norman in wonder. He shrugged lightly and pushed aside the tapestry. He walked into the space behind the heavy cloth and held it open for Mabel. She give him a confused look and ducked under his arm to get inside.

“Most of these tunnels are just shortcuts, you know? Downside is they don't have lights or windows and get jammed sometimes. Don't worry, this one is god..” Once Norman let the tapestry drop, Mabel took out her phone and turned on the flashlight.

“I don't have a good feeling about this place,” Norman pursed his lips. There was a pit in his stomach warning him to get out.

“Yeah, this place is creepy. Might have something, you never know.” Mabel nodded in agreement. Norman opened his mouth to tell her that's not what he intended, that this wasn't just a simple feeling, but decided to let it be. Mabel held her phone close to her chest to avoid the risk of dropping it. Her steps echoed in the stone tunnel, which looks exactly how you'd imagine any stereotypical castle tunnel, but Norman's steps made no sound.

“What about this doorway?” Norman stopped spoke up. Mabel gave him a confused look.

“Uh, there's no doorway here, Norm. The next one is up ahead, if you can see it from here.” Mabel gestured ahead of them. She didn't wait for his response and kept walking. Norman stared at the wall and ran his fingers down it. He felt as if his blood vessels were suddenly struck with a painful poison that went through his body immediately. Dread and pain stuck his chest and he hurried after Mabel after practically ripping his hand away from the wall.

Although he must've fallen behind for a few seconds at most, he felt as if he had been walking for hours. His legs felt like lead and his eyes tired, his lungs found it hard to find air.

“You okay? You're wheezing.” Mabel glanced back at him. She stopped at another end of the hall.

“Yeah, uh, just… claustrophobic. I'm fine. Is this hidden if there's a door?” Norman felt freezing cold. This was too familiar a feeling, but he just couldn't place it for the life of him.

“It only opens from the inside,” Mabel explained. She put her hand on the handle but paused. “You sure you're okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” Mabel didn't seem satisfied with his answer but opened the door anyway. Norman felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up and he glanced behind him--he might have seen a figure vanish into the wall he felt so disturbed with. He might have not. But all he knew is that his legs were forcing him to go forward.

Norman gasped for air and fell to his knees as soon as he stepped out of the doorway. He clawed down his throat, trying _desperately_ for air. He could vaguely hear Mabel calling his name, but he couldn't focus. It was like something wrapping around his neck with exceptional force, like a huge weight was crushing his lungs. Black dots blotted his vision.

Was he going to die?

“Th-the door!” He rasped out. Thankfully, Mabel understood him and shut the door. She had to use all of her weight to pull it shut, almost as if something was trying to keep it open. When the door did close the heavy click of a latch was audible. The door shook and then went still.

Norman gasped in pure air.

“N-Norman, what _was_ that?” Mabel looked shaken as she helped him up. “Was that a…”

“I don't… I don't know.” When Norman felt his neck, he winced at how hot it felt, at the stinging. Did he cut himself when he scratched at his neck? “I don't think that was--I don't think that's human, Mabel. Not anymore.”

Mabel didn't respond. She and Norman leaned against the wall as they recovered, though Norman took longer than his friend. Mabel kept a paranoid eye on the door to watch for anything that might come through. When Norman gave the okay, the two practically ran away (Norman speed walked, he didn't want to leave Mabel behind).

“What do we do now?” Norman asked her when they finally felt safe enough to slow down.

“I don't know, I don't--” She paused before giving a long sigh. “We should stop.”

“Y-yeah, we've been running for--”

“That's not what I mean, Norman. If we called you out here to help and you just got hurt…” Mabel shut her eyes tightly. Norman watched her for a moment before carefully placing a hand on her shoulder.

“I'm not going to get hurt.”

“You just _did._ ”

“... From here on out, I won't.” Norman smiled reassuringly. “Mabel, look at me. We're trying to help people. If I don't at least try to stop this mess, then more people will get hurt. More people will die.”

“Thanks for the pep talk,” she said sarcastically.

“I'm not finished yet.” He chuckled. “We can take a break for today, after that I'm… not feeling the best either. We've been walking around for hours with no results. A break is only reasonable.”

“... Screw you for being so smart,” Mabel whined. Norman laughed and patted her head.

“I'm also the one who tried talking to a beetle, remember?” He reminded her. As hoped, she grinned.

“A very talkative beetle!” The two finally laughed together. Mabel led him back to the dorm rooms. When she opened her door, Dipper was sitting at her table with his laptop. He was noticeably eating pizza.

“Find anything?” He didn't look up.

“I almost died, does that count?” Norman said half-jokingly. Dipper immediately dropped his food and got to his feet. He looked over Mabel and then Norman--his stoic expression broke when he saw the red marks on Norman's neck.

“Do you know what did this to you?” Dipper wiped his hands on his jeans and went over to Norman, looking impossibly concerned. Norman's heart fluttered in his chest at the closeness and his mouth went dry. Dipper gently ran his finger along one of the long scratches.

“ _He_ did.” Mabel gave Dipper a light push away from Norman. Dipper didn't seem to register it at first. “Personal space, brother.”

“What?” Dipper's eyes went up to Norman's, then quickly away again.

“She showed me a passageway and I started… suffocating.” He wasn't lying. He just didn't tell them about the figure or the feelings he felt. It wasn't the time. “It was an impulse decision, I guess. It felt like something was choking me.”

“And… which passage was this?” Dipper seemed even more upset than Norman had been. He shifted on his feet and twirled some of his longish hair. Norman noticed he had a tattoo of the pine tree from his old chest. Mabel went over to her desk and rummaged around before taking out a laminated map. She spread it on her bed and the boys walked over to look at it.

As she said earlier, this was a very Mabel-like map. Lots of color-coded notes. She placed her finger on a blue line.

“That one?” Dipper didn't need to consider the location. “I almost forgot that was there.”

“Thought we might find something in the hidden places but now… I'm not so sure.” The twins shared a long look, yet seemingly understood each other immediately.

“This is too dangerous,” Dipper said. He said it in a way like he was repeating it instead of _saying_ it, but maybe Norman was wrong. If he didn't know better he would have asked if they could read the others’ mind.

“Guys, I'm fine!” Norman protested. “I didn't expect this to be easy when I came out.”

“What if you get injured?” Mabel brought up again.

“What if you die?” Dipper frowned in a hard way, absolutely refusing to meet Norman's eyes.

“What if I don't? You guys called me to help. This is just as dangerous as it was when we were kids, maybe more so.” Norman stood his ground, raising his voice. The two twins focused on him. “I'm not leaving until this over. I'm not leaving you alone.”

Norman had meant to direct that towards both siblings, but he found himself focusing on Dipper. Dipper pressed his lips together and looked away again, feeling as if that was directed towards him entirely.

“... If we swear to give up these speeches, you can stay.” Of course, Mabel made a joke in a time like this. Though neither said it, both boys were thankful for the interruption.

“I think I can do that,” Norman faked sounded thoughtful, nodding. He smiled at Mabel, though lost it when he noticed Dipper still wouldn't look at him.

 _Did I mess up again?_ Norman asked himself. _Am I that bad?_

He wanted to ask the question out loud.

“Uh, where's the bathroom?” He said instead.


	7. Chapter 7

Norman once heard someone say that college was just expensive high school. And since he was yet again escaping to the bathroom to hide from his harsh reality, it might as well have been.

Norman followed the instructions Mabel gave him to the bathroom--like his own dorm, it was basically like a locker room.

Norman was surprised to see no one in there and shut himself in a stall. The stalls were definitely cleaner than high school ones and the walls reached the floor.

Norman leaned his back against the stall. Yet again, his lungs felt empty and there was a pit in his stomach.

If he had any chance with Dipper before, it was gone again.

_ Fuck. Fuck.  _ Fuck _!  _ While Norman pressed the balls of his hands into his temples, a strong ache started to come on in his hand.  _ Not now, not now… _

Of course, Norman didn't have a say in what visions overtook his mind.

 

_ He was in that tunnel again. That horrible, horrible tunnel that tried suffocating him. _

_ In this, he could see himself stumbling out of the tunnel. This obviously wasn't his perspective, then… who's? _

_ He saw a hand reaching out for his body, but immediately a shot of yellow electricity came from Norman's back and shocked the hand. As it recoiled in pain, Norman looked back. Norman's eyes had a yellow glow to them before he finally got out of the tunnel. _

_ The view shifted and he found himself walking into the wall. He could vaguely hear grumbling, he could see ‘his’ fists clenching. _

_ “That fool… that fool will ruin everything…” A voice growled. It didn't sound human. _

 

Norman's eyes snapped open. His chest was heaving and he was back in a bathroom stall, wide eyes staring at green tiles. His go-to safe space suddenly felt like his own Hell.

Norman quickly made his way out of the bathroom, all but running, and had to dodge someone who was now in there. He muttered an ‘excuse me’ and put his hand on the doorknob.

“Wait!” A voice cried from behind him. Norman practically jumped and looked and the person he had just narrowly avoided.

“Y-yeah?” He asked nervously. The man he was staring at looked  _ terrified _ . Norman realized a moment later than he should have that he had a green haze around him.

“You can  _ see  _ me?” The man's mouth fell open in shock. Norman noticed he was… Well, he was pretty handsome. His blond hair fell over one eye and his yellow sweater was just barely on his shoulders. Admittedly, this guy was the kind of guy Norman would stare at from a distance. Too handsome to talk to normally. He glanced him up and down and realized the scar on his left eye was probably the cause of his death.

Norman looked around quickly, wondering if any (living) person had entered. When he was satisfied that they were alone, he locked the entrance door.

“Yes. I can.” Norman found himself whispering regardless.

“You have to help us!” The man grabbed Norman's shoulders and shook him frantically.

“With--I'm trying!” Norman brushed his hands away.

“You don't understand. If you don't catch him he'll kill us all!”

“You mean… other ghosts?” Norman frowned. The ghost pressed his hands together in a pleading motion.

“Yes, he's experimenting on us! Please!”

“What can you tell me?”

“That--the tunnels are dangerous. Avoid the tunnels. Um, the--” The ghost seemed disorganized. “--Don't follow anyone. If you see a ghost, don't follow him.”

“I'm following you now,” Norman pointed out.

“That's not what I meant!” He whined in response.

“Okay, okay, sorry. Anything else?”

“Don't trust the Pines twins!” The ghost fell to a whisper himself. “One of them know more that what they're letting on. Trust no one!” The ghost had a surprised look and suddenly vanished. Norman blinked in surprise. A ghost wasn't usually so direct with that--did the ghost know Dipper and Mabel? Was he telling the truth? Or was he a suspect, trying to throw Norman off the real trail?

Norman almost screamed when someone knocked on the bathroom door.

“Norm? You've been in there for like, ten minutes… you're not doing what I think you're doing, are you?” Mabel's voice was concerned. “Don't make me pick this lock.”

“N-no, I'm not.” Norman quickly unlocked the door and opened it. Mabel's eyes were full of worry and she pulled Norman forward before hugging him tightly. Norman didn't react immediately considering how… spontaneous it was.

Norman finally hugged her back, relishing in the moment.

“You can't keep crying in the bathroom, Norm.” Mabel muttered. She had hid her face in his chest while they hugged but moved so she could speak. He smiled--he didn't realize how tall he had gotten.

“I wasn't crying, Mabel.” He spoke softly. “But… Thank you for worrying.”

“Gosh, you feel like a teddy bear…” She muttered. Norman laughed more and patted her head.

“Thank you, I try.” Mabel finally pulled away from the hug again and gave her friend a bright smile.

“We've picked out some of the better tunnels to explore, but, uh, it's better to wait a little bit. Catch up and all.”

Norman knew behind her words, she was scared. She didn't want to risk losing anyone. He didn't blame her.

Then again, time was of the essence. If they didn't act quickly, more people would be tortured. People would die.

But at the same time, they were all on edge. Mabel almost watched Norman die not even an hour ago, and Norman's throat still hadn't loosened.

Norman thought about the vision he had on the plane, and then he looked at Mabel's silently pleading face.

“I don't know about you, but I'm hungry,” Norman said with a tone of finality. Mabel brightened up again and smiled. She took Norman's hand and led him back to their dorms, talking about how the pizza was  _ so  _ good and he just  _ had  _ to try it.

Norman knew he made the right choice at the time, but would it be the best in the end?

The medium sighed to himself. He didn't want to think of so much right now. He just wanted to relax with his friends again. So, he didn't tell Mabel about the ghost he had seen. He didn't tell them about the vision. Instead, he ate cold pizza and laughed as the twins (badly) tried to beat each other in video games, chipping in encouragement to the losing party (usually Dipper).

If he could ignore the reality for just a moment, then it would all be worth it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for implied NSFW.

The night after the fun was fairly awkward, considering both boys had sleeping issues but neither knew what to say after Mabel left. Dipper muttered to himself as he read and typed furiously on his keyboard. Norman silently watched Netflix on his phone.

Norman was the first to fall asleep, give or take, but Dipper didn't want to. If he did, Bill would find him. He didn't want to deal with that right now. Even if Bill appeared in front of him, he couldn't speak. The Deal commanded so.

Dipper realized he was finally reaching the second stage of dying--anger.

He silently fumed while he did research, though considering how pissed he was it probably wasn't his best work. He had lied to himself and reasoned that the Deal was made to help others. Mabel would be fine without him, right? It wouldn't be the first time he had abandoned someone important to him.

But then Mabel just _had_ to bring Norman into all this. Though his eyes were tired by then, Dipper glanced over at his friend. Norman insisted he sleep on the floor so at the moment he was lying in a cloth sleeping bag. Even after all these years, he was always restless. Norman had a habit of trying to help people no matter the cost--Dipper tended towards the same habit--so he always looked so tired. Anxious. Scared.

Now, in only the dim glow of Dipper's laptop screen, he looked peaceful--happy, even. Dipper wondered if sleep was the only time he got peace. That used to be the case for Dipperp, too.

If Norman was so happy right now, laughing like he did earlier that night… Dipper didn't want to take that away from him. Not again.

The student winced at the memory that came to mind. He remembered vividly how he broke up with Norman when he was sixteen, how _broken_ Norman was. They had been secretly dating for… What, three years? at that point. Dipper never told his parents, not even Mabel.

He never got the chance to tell his parents before he found out their bias. How deeply they hated gay people. They hadn't meant for him to hear it, and he almost wish he never did. He was too scared to tell his parents, so he waited and waited and waited until he broke up with Norman at the end of summer.

They hadn't talked until now because of that, and Dipper hated himself for it.

He shut his laptop with a slightly too loud clap. He winced at the noise and slowly put his laptop on the floor. If he was thinking about the thing he normally forced himself not to think about, he was too tired to be awake.

Dipper almost always turned in his bed for hours but tonight, when he pulled his blanket over his shoulder he was out.

He was hoping this would be the night Bill left him alone. He was wrong.

“Hey, Pine Tree!” Bill was sitting back in a lush chair. Despite knowing exactly where he was, Dipper took a look around.

Bill's faux mindscape was like a rich psychologist’s office. Everything was supposed to be comfortable and attractive, but it was all superficial in the end. Bill _had_ no mindscape, after all, he just made his own nest in Dipper's. “A rendezvous,” he called it.

Dipper's body was magically chained to the seat across from Bill. Today, Bill had on a sweater that barely stayed on his tanned shoulders. His hat was lying on a desk and a thick gold choker was around his neck in place of his bow tie.

The sigil that Dipper forced onto him glowed faintly under his collar.

“Yes?” The human answered simply. Being uninterested made Bill bored, so he wouldn't be as cruel.

 _Just like a bully,_ Dipper thought.

“Hey, I heard that!” Bill pouted. Dipper hated the demon's human look. He wished the demon stayed as a triangle, not as a devilishly handsome man who Dipper would probably have fantasies about in another life. It was probably on purpose.

“Whoops.” He sneered.

“How's it going, huh? Find anything interesting?” Ah. So that's what this was about.

Dipper had asked Bill for help on this investigation so sometimes Bill would ask about it. He was always bored or curious.

“Nope.”

“How would you know?”

“That doesn't make sense, Bill.” Dipper stated with a roll of his eyes. It was better to leave the questioning to the demon, otherwise he would have asked for clarification.

“Norman hasn't told you everything. You think he almost died in that tunnel randomly? That he hid in the bathroom for so long ‘cause he was bored?” Bill chuckled and leaned forward. He poked Dipper's nose. “Duh. For a kid with so many damn books, you don't read between the lines.”

“It's not my business what he does.” Dipper didn't correct Bill on his age. It was useless, after all, time didn't make sense to him. (Dipper had tried explaining it earlier but found he could never quite get the point across. He didn't know if Bill was serious about his confusion.)

“Isn't it, though? You'd like it to be. Then again, I'm sure you'd like to pull him forward by that red jacket he always wears and show him how much you care,” Bill teased with a sharp-toothed grin.

“As if you're one to talk,” Dipper sneered back at him.

“I told you before, what we did was a handshake on broader terms.” Bill spread his gloved hands, giving Dipper an innocent look. “Business, you know? The Deal was more complex than a handshake.”

Dipper huffed. “Those hickies weren't very business-like.”

“I said it was for business. I never said I wouldn't enjoy it.” Bill tilted his head back in cackling laughter. Dipper's face felt hot with shame--he had enjoyed it, too, though he'd never confess.

“I'm glad this is all so amusing to you.” Dipper practically spat at the demon, who gave another wide grin in response.

“Me too. We have so much in common. I dare say, if I wasn't taking over your body after this was done, we'd make one hell of a couple!”

“Don't make me laugh.”

“But your laugh is so cute! Just like you and Norman there, earlier that night. You were losing on purpose for the pity, for the attention you got from him.”

Dipper said nothing. There was nothing to say.

“They're going to find out eventually, you know.” Bill sighed, suddenly not so excited for this conversation. “Pretending isn't going to help anyone but yourself.”

“I'm sure you'd know all about doing things for your own good.”

“Dipper, please. Petty insults? I'm hurt... I do look forward to having you forever.” Bill sat forward in his chair and tilted Dipper's chin up. Although there were no visual restraints, Dipper couldn't move his hands to shove the demon away, no matter how much he struggled. Bill sighed again.

“This doesn't _have_ to be so serious all the time. We could have fun together. It would be easier on the both of us, frankly.”

“I'd rather die. Oh, wait, that's your plan already, isn't it?” Dipper didn't show how shaken up the demon's touch made him. The way it always did.

“I suppose so…” If he didn't know any better, he'd say that Bill looked genuinely sad. Nothing was genuine with him, however. He couldn't forget that. “I don't suppose you could take this sigil off now? I won't hurt anyone, promise.”

“No.”

“It was worth a shot.” Bill shrugged, sitting back in his chair. Dipper sighed and let his head fall back. He hated that these dreams were tangible enough to have been real. Then again, he could expect as much with a dream demon.

“You still won't win, Mabel will stop you.” Dipper couldn't help but rebel at least once. Bill smiled, though it wasn't real. Tight lipped and obviously holding back something.

“Of course. I can't wait to talk to her again, it's been a while.” Bill looked thoughtful. That was a bad look.

“What is it?” Dipper risked a question. “What are you thinking about?”

“Mm. Nothing, I don't think. It's rather hard keeping thoughts, you know, I'm surprised you do this so often. They're like ants--too many, too often, too fast.”

Apparently demons didn't think, either. That would make a lot of sense. Of course when he said “you” he was referring to mortals in general. Of course.

“It's not our fault.”

“I suppose it isn't. Maybe it's ours.” Bill shut his eyes.

Dipper waited for him to elaborate but got no response, so instead, he asked,

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, my dear Pines, you couldn't give me enough to tell you.” Bill sighed dramatically. By the way he was sitting in his seat now, he looked like a bored king. Legs dangled over one arm, leaning his head on his hand on the other. “Maybe you'll know someday. Maybe, maybe, maybe.”

“You sure like threes.”

“Isn't three the best? Maybe I _am_ a bit biased.” Bill made a triangle with his fingers and peered at him through it. For a moment, a yellow light connected his fingers but quickly sparked out like a broken neon sign. Bill's perfect face quickly turned into a dark scowl and he gave Dipper a glare that made his blood run cold.

“This is all _your_ fault, you fucking human!”  Bill sat up again. Dipper leaned back as far as the chair would let him, but that didn't mean much when Bill stood up. His fists pressed to his sides like a tantrum-enraged child. “As soon as I get strong enough to be myself again, you're _through_.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Dipper could be snarky right now, considering Bill was so mad. The demon wouldn't be able to focus his energy into an attack like this. Bill stomped his foot and the mindscape collapsed around them--the “comforting” illusion replaced instead by a solid grey color for what could either be miles or a few steps. Dipper fell on the ground and felt what was like grass, though no texture was visible.

Dipper's confident smirk pulled on his lips until _he_ was the one laughing. He'd never gotten Bill so pissed off before. Truly, this was an accomplishment to celebrate.

“You _idiot!_ ” Bill hissed. “Have you any idea how much this Deal will destroy you? How much I'll enjoy turning your life into a pile of rubble?!”

“Mmhm.” Dipper smiled at him, his laughing fit having hurt his chest. “Can't wait.”

“You're going to regret this, Pine Tree.” Bill growled. “You're going to _pay._ You, and that medium kid. Mark my fucking words.”

And then, he was awake. And Norman was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

Dipper's ‘dream’ had been less than pleasant, especially when it left behind a sick feeling in his entire body. He jolted up, ready to vomit. He pressed his hand over his mouth, in case the puke he felt threatened to spill. He shut his eyes tightly and waited for the feeling to fade.

After that, Dipper tried to calm down. He gripped his blanket in his hands, sliding the smooth material between two fingers. A look at his clock showed that it was a godly time. That is, past 7 in the morning. Dipper let out a sigh of relief. When he turned his head to check on Norman, that relief quickly returned to panic.

Dipper threw the blanket off himself and jumped off the bed. The sleeping bag was empty, though Norman's belongings were still up against the wall near it. His phone was still plugged in. Dipper was all too aware of the heartbeat in his ears, of the nausea that threatened again to rise.

He immediately whipped open the linking door--Norman stared at him in confusion from the table in Mabel's room. Dipper let out a sigh of relief and fell against the door frame, the adrenaline that drove him leaving as soon as it had came.

“Dipper?” Norman was to his feet in a moment, rushing over to Dipper just as he started to collapse. He took most of Dipper's weight as he fell, struggling to keep his own feet in place. Norman helped Dipper back to his bed. Dipper never let go of his sleeve.

“Dipper, what's wrong? Should I call an ambulance?” Norman's heart pounded in his chest. Dipper only shook his head in response, his grip on Norman's jacket only tightening.

“Thought you were dead…” He whispered.

“Can you breathe okay? Should I get Mab--”

“ _No!_ ” Dipper gasped suddenly. Norman blinked in surprise and nodded dumbly in response. “No, no, I'm okay, just… just nightmares… bad things.” Dipper grumbled, hoping Norman got the gist of it.

Thankfully, he did. After carefully removing Dipper's hand from his jacket, he got his friend some water. He helped him sit up and drink it and didn't say anything when Dipper leaned against him and rested his head on his shoulder.

You know, like a good friend would.

Norman took a deep breath.

“I haven't been telling you everything,” Norman spoke softly. Dipper's chest tightened.

“You don't have to. Everyone needs their secrets.”

 _For once, Bill wasn't lying._ Dipper thought.

“It's not like that. Mabel's scared, and I guess… I am too. You should be, if you're not already.”

“I never said that.”

“I know. You won't either.” Norman chuckled, though it was empty as a failed attempt to lighten the mood. “I… saw some things.”

Norman explained the tunnel, the dream. He mentioned the ghost in the bathroom, but he didn't tell him about the warning he had gotten. He didn't want Dipper to think Norman didn't trust him.

“... Why not earlier?” Dipper muttered.

“I didn't want to scare her.” Norman shrugged lightly. “I freaked her out enough earlier, if I did more… I'd be too guilty.”

Norman and Dipper stared down at their laps. Dipper picked up Norman's hand--Norman wouldn't say it, but that made him excited--and observed the faintest scars on the knuckles.

“Where is she?” Dipper asked.

“She said he was getting breakfast.”

“Was she lying?”

“Yeah. I hope only partially, I'm hungry.”

“Me too... I didn't take you for a boxer,” Dipper said with an amused tone, quickly changing topics. Norman laughed softly and squeezed his friend's hand lightly.

 _Of course he's the one to notice some scratches on my knuckles,_ Norman thought adoringly.

“I'm not. Just, uh, learning how to punch properly again. It's a long story.”

“Again?” Dipper laughed. Norman couldn't help but join him, a grin growing on his face. “I need to hear this.”

“If you could imagine I'm not out there fighting with my hands too often. I know, i know, surprising, I'm a powerhouse. See, there was this poltergeist who used to be a boxer…” Norman whispered the humorous story to Dipper, trying his hardest not to join his friend in his laughter. It _was_ a very funny story, after all. He was just happy Dipper smiled so much while he told it.

“I was going to tell you this one earlier. I hope Mabel hasn't beaten me to it. Like, three years ago we went to Colorado, right? Just seeing the Stanley Hotel as tourists and _then_ \--” Dipper paused suddenly. “Did you hear--?”

Mabel was in the room before either boy had realized.

“Heyyyy, I got a nice snack for you two!” She sung. Norman yanked his hand away when he saw her there, and Dipper frowned at the lack of warmth.

“Yeah? Like what?” Dipper was unphased by her sudden intrusion. His voice was flat, like he hadn't been smiling and laughing a moment before. He looked practically emotionless. Norman frowned when he looked away. He'd need to get time with Dipper alone to talk again.

“Liiike this!... Come over now.” Mabel whispered to someone in the other room. Norman perked up and his eyes widened when he saw a flash of blue.

“There are way too many books in here, it's decided.” Coraline looked around Dipper's room, hand going to her hip. Norman was on his feet almost immediately. He went to hug her but hesitated.

“It's been a long time,” he whispered. Coraline looked _very_ different--taller (not as much as him) with an undercut that showed off her piercings. She had glasses now, too. She was _beautiful._ She spread her arms for him and he rushed forward and hugged her tightly. Tightly as he could without hurting her frail form, that is. She laughed in delight as he practically picked her up.

“Norman!” She held onto him until she was put back down. “Someone's been drinking his milk! You're so _built_!”

“Thanks? You're so--” he paused. “I can't think of a good adjective right now.” And by that, he meant she was _way_ too hot to say anything. Man, all his friends got hot. How come he missed out?

“I'll guess some for myself, don't worry.” Coraline smiled and winked.

“Is Wybie here, too?” Dipper didn't stand up. Instead, the two just waved at each other like strangers.

“No. He couldn't make it, I'm sorry.” Coraline had stuck her thumbs in her pocket and Norman couldn't miss the ring.

“Did you--” He gasped. Coraline smiled and nodded.

“Funny story, actually. He said we couldn't propose until he finished school so I did as soon as he left the stage.” Coraline laughed.

“How… romantic?” Mabel giggled.

“I know, I know, I'm a modern Casanova.”

“And a comedian,” Dipper noted. The room was filled with laughter, though Dipper was obviously faking.

“So… did you really get breakfast or..?” Norman gave Mabel a hopeful look. She gasped and put her hands in hair.

“I forgot it in the car! I hope it's not too cold!” The girl ran back out the door.

“Be careful!” Norman shouted after her. When he got no response, he sat back down on Dipper's bed. The room was silent for a few moments until Coraline spoke up.

“Nice pants, Dip.” She pulled a folding chair from the wall and sat down. Dipper was confused until he realized he was wearing Supernatural pyjama pants. He snorted.

“Thanks. What major did you go into?”

“Software design. You?”

“Forensic science.”

“Cool.”

Norman couldn't tell if they were so short because they liked getting to the point or if they just didn't know what to say. He figured it was a mixture of both.

“So, you got a major you could use to hack things?” Norman asked. Coraline chuckled and gave a half-hearted shrug.

“S’pose so. I don't normally hack things, unless you _want_ me to look at your search history.” She glanced up with a devilish gleam in her eye. When Norman gave her a confused look in response, she frowned. “Sorry. Forgot who I was talking to.”

“I heard you're in a band now.” Norman looked over at Dipper, who quickly looked away to act as if he wasn't staring at Norman the whole time. Norman wasn't necessarily better at socializing than Dipper, but he also wasn't the one who almost collapsed a few minutes ago. He could take care of the conversation for now.

“Yeah! Yeah. _Talking Felines._ It's weird saying the name to someone who knows the story behind the name…”

“Weird, or familiar?” Norman thought he sounded like a poet but Coraline seemed to like it.

“Familiar.” She smiled. “And you? What's our medium been doing?”

“Uh, CSI. Crime Scene stuff.” Norman shrugged. Coraline cocked an eyebrow.

“Really? Doesn't that get gruesome?” She asked. Norman shrugged again.

“Nothing I'm not used to. I need to use my inheritance for something, right?” After he finished talking, the room fell silent once more. Norman thought he said something wrong until Coraline absent-mindedly put a hand on her computer bag.

“Now I just feel dumb for my major,” she muttered. Norman laughed.

“Uh, most people do… do you know about the case yet?”

“I was gonna get debriefed when I got here, but, uh, Mabel vanished.” Coraline shrugged.

“No! I'm back! With food!” Mabel seemed to show up on command with a plastic bag of fast food breakfast. Dipper whooped as she set it down on the counter.

“Do we have to talk about this over breakfast? Or after?” Norman watched as she separated the breakfasts by person.

“Uh, after. Don't want anyone to puke mid bite.”

“That sounds like it had a story behind it,” Coraline raised an eyebrow. Mabel smiled sheepishly.

“Uh… maybe. Are we gonna sit around Dipper's room and eat like animals, or should we go to the table?”

Coraline, Norman, and Dipper thought for a moment, before unanimously saying, “animals.” Mabel groaned but handed out the breakfasts anyway, sitting on the floor besides Coraline as if there wasn't another chair nearby.

Norman wasn't sure if it was just him, but he felt like the breakfast lasted longer than it should have. Like no one wanted to talk about the case. He didn't blame them if so. As soon as everyone put their trash back in the plastic bag, Dipper pulled up his laptop. Norman noticed he had put on glasses when he wasn't looking.

“Time to catch you up, then.”


	10. Chapter 10

Coraline didn't seem too shocked by the case nor by the details of it. Which wasn't exactly surprising, considering what the girl had seen in the past.

Dipper explained the technical side of the case, and Mabel explained the supernatural aspects. Norman avoided looking at Mabel when she talked about her half, and especially not at Coraline.

“Damn,” the blue haired said finally, speaking in a soft voice. “One hell of a case.”

“You can say that again.” Dipper nodded.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“You could find a good map of the school,” Dipper suggested. Seems like he didn't find it himself. “Closest to blueprints as you can get.” Coraline nodded and got to work without another word.

“Norm, you wanna go explore again?” Mabel stood up and stretched out her arms.

“Actually, Mabel, I need help with this. Would you mind?” Coraline looked back at the other girl. Mabel gave her a puzzled look but nodded anyway.

“Should we wait to explore until you find the school plot?” Norman asked.

“No, they're looking for a more detailed map. I have mine to go by, and it's pretty damn accurate if I do say so myself. _We_ can explore today.” Dipper closed his laptop and slid it under his pillow. When he stood up, he made a shooing motion with his hand. When met with confused looks, he put his hands on his hips. “As much as I'm an exhibitionist, I'm not changing until you two are out of the room.” He gestured vaguely to Coraline and Mabel.

They _ohed_ and went to Mabel's dorm, shutting the door behind him. Norman awkwardly looked away.

“... You're fine, I just wanted them out of my room. If I didn't, Coraline would look through my things.” Dipper laughed.

“Ohh… question, what's an exhibitionist?” Norman gave Dipper an innocent look. Dipper blinked, a little surprised. When he started stuttering over a way to explain, Norman laughed. “I'm joking, though that was a bit of a weird thing to learn about you after a couple days…”

“Uh, I was--I was joking.” Dipper couldn't help the blush on his face.

“Hey, hey, no shaming here.” Norman put his hands up in defense with a grin. Dipper rolled his eyes.

“I liked you better when you were made of anxiety,” he grumbled. “Coraline made me feel bad about my pyjamas, maybe I will change.”

“But you're perfect the way you are.” Norman laughed softly and fell back on Dipper's bed as he changed into more appropriate adventuring clothes. Norman had already changed earlier, so he was set to go.

“You want coffee or something? There's a campus café not far away.” Dipper pulled on a jacket and a beanie.

“Oh, sure. You still drink coffee?” Norman got up and picked up his jacket and phone.

“I started when I was twelve, I doubt I'll stop soon.” Dipper chuckled. He pulled on a backpack and grabbed his keys. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Is that an adventure backpack?”

“Maybe.”

“So, yes?”

“... In my defense… you can never be too careful,” Dipper said slowly. Norman smiled.

“I have one, too. I figured it would be safer, considering the nature of the Pines twins.”

“You give us too much credit!” Dipper held open the door until they were both out. He shut and locked it behind him.

“I really don't. Remember that time when we were fourteen and you told me just to bring a jacket and I ended up needing to start a fire?”

“Oh my god, you're so dramatic. It wasn't that bad.” Dipper shoved his hands in his jacket pockets.

“It was negative ten outside. Or remember when I told you we should bring extra food, you said no, and we ended up getting trapped in cave?” Norman gave him a teasing, accusatory glance. Dipper groaned. “Or like the time when--”

“Okay! Okay, I get it. Geez. You don't have to remind me…” Dipper grumbled, obviously embarrassed. When Norman reassuringly patted his shoulder, he flinched away. Norman frowned yet said nothing. He'd ask later when they were in a private place and not walking through a busy building.

The commons of the university were less crowded than they had been the previous day but there was still bustling. The commons tables and couches were pretty full already, despite it not being even 8 in the morning.

“It's a normal hanging out spot,” Dipper explained. “On holidays, people who live off campus meet with the on campus students to make plans.”

“Have you got any friends to meet up with?”

“I have you,” Dipper said with a wink. Norman's face felt hot and he looked down at the floor as he walked.

 _He's definitely more smooth than he was before,_ Norman thought. _Is this supposed to be a date? Or is he just being nice?_

“You like coffee?” Dipper's voice brought Norman out of his thoughts. Norman shrugged.

“Uh, yeah.” Norman was lying by omission. He didn't mind coffee, but only drank it when he needed to loosen up. He had sleeping problems already, after all, he never used it like most people did.

“They have such good drinks there, I swear.” Dipper praised the café as they walked. They had to walk outside for a bit to get to the café, so the boys flipped up their hoods and jogged to it. Considering how it was snowing in a thick and steady pace, they were thankful when they got inside the warmth of the building.

“M-man, Oregon winters are _harsh…_ ” Norman shuddered and rubbed his arms. He couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at the overpowering smell of coffee.

“If you're that cold you can have one of my jackets. It can get worse. I forgot you weren't really with us in the winter.” Dipper flipped down his hood and got in the small line. He tapped his fingers on his thighs to the beat of the song Norman couldn't hear over customer chatter, and he didn't even look at the menu. When he ordered he was cleaning the snow off his glasses. Norman panicked some--he _really_ didn't want coffee, but he didn't want to disappoint Dipper. Somehow, those correlated in his mind.

“You know,” Dipper whispered in his ear. Norman was very aware of his warm breath on his face, the closeness. “They have tea and hot chocolate.”

“... Was it that obvious?” Norman sighed.

“Mmhm.”

“Sorry. I really don't drink coffee.”

“I get it. The chocolate’s good, too, if you still like that.” Dipper smiled at him. Norman smiled back and nodded. He didn't know in what moment it became easy to talk to Dipper again, but he hoped that didn't end.

The few moments they had spent in line Norman tried to prepare himself for the order of coffee he didn't want. With Dipper's realization he scanned the menu for something different. Thankfully he decided on hot chocolate, though he faltered anyways and stuttered over his mentally rehearsed line. Dipper ordered for him as if he knew what he wanted without even asking. Hopefully, Dipper didn't pay too much attention to the astonished stare Norman was very obviously giving him.

They sat down by a window. The cold reached its desperate grasp through the glass and made Norman shudder. Dipper encouragingly nudged the medium’s drink toward him. When he picked it up, the drink warmed Norman's hands almost immediately.

“Are we going to tell Mabel about the, uh…?” Dipper watched Norman over the brim of his cup. Norman was entirely sure that was too hot to drink but said nothing. He shrugged lightly.

“I… uh, I wouldn't, no. Not now. She'll just freak out more…”

“It's nice you worry about her.”

“Of course I do. We're friends.” Norman nodded. He was suddenly aware of his friend's distant look, at the lack of eye contact.

“What about you?”

“Me?” Dipper snapped his attention back to Norman.

“Yeah, you. You think you twins are the only ones who can read behavior?” Norman said it teasingly but still, Dipper became guarded. He sat back in his seat. If he squeezed his coffee any more then it would burst.

“I guess not,” he muttered. He suddenly looked exhausted.

“Dipper, is… is everything okay? Really. Don't lie to me. I'll ugly cry. I swear to everything, I will ugly cry in the middle of this café like you broke up with me.” Norman threatened. Dipper raised his eyebrows in surprise at the threat. He forced himself not to smile, ignored the voice in his head.

“What makes you so sure I'm hiding something? That I'm not just like this?” The words came out harsher than he had intended. Norman frowned immediately, his eyebrows pushing together. He kept reacting harshly after jokes...

“Dipper…”

 _It's good if he hates me, right?_ Dipper's cynical thoughts wondered. _Makes the goodbye easier. Just like before._

“You haven't been talking to… Y'know, Him, right?” Norman's timid nature faulted him again and he hesitated. His hands shook in the slightest as he drank, his eyes anywhere but the man across from him.

“You're seriously asking me that?” Dipper avoided the question and became offended instead. Norman pressed his lips together and held his arms close to his chest, bowed his head the way he did when he wanted to hide but couldn't escape the room. Despite his own insistence, Dipper found himself feeling bad. His voice softened. “That's… not what I meant.”

“You're right. I'm intruding.” Norman muttered. Dipper winced--he had an especially hard time with anxiety when he was younger, but it seemed like Norman never got help for it.

“I'm not saying that. You're part of this group, no matter how much or an asshole I am--” Norman opened his mouth to speak but Dipper held up a finger to stop him. “--and I am an asshole, no matter how much you object.” At this, Norman smiled in the slightest. _That was worth it._

“Do we, uh… have a course of action?” Norman asked quietly as he could while still being audible. Dipper didn't mention the change in topic. He'd tell him soon enough.

“I'm kinda waiting for Coraline to find a blueprint to do work, but I could show you around.” He glanced out the window at the accumulating snow. “... Inside. I can show you around inside.”

“But… Time crunch, right?”

“Nothing’s happened for a couple days. Besides, we don't know where to look still. Most of the hidden passages are just that. Passages. Thin ways that let you get to class faster.”

“There has to be more.”

“Why do you say that?”

“... I'm assuming.” Norman shrugged. “Remember that, uh, dream?”

“We don't know if it's a wall _we_ can get through. Physics don't usually apply to apparitions, you know. Especially since the one you were seeing through--” he paused to drink his coffee. “--sounded conscious. Although most poltergeists are, they can't really… _plan_ like that. None I've seen. You?”

“Nope.” Norman sighed. “Every time I think we get some leverage we get stuck again.”

“Imagine doing it for a career.” Dipper snorted, slinging an arm over the back of his chair. Norman's eyes brightened.

“If I could find the ghosts again then maybe I could talk to them.” Norman tried. Dipper frowned.

“I've tried spirit boxes and got nothing.”

“You know that's nowhere near as good.”

“I don't want you to be bait,” Dipper argued.

“I wouldn't be! Considering we can't get access to the bodies--”

“Why would you _want_ to?”

“--let me finish. I just need to find the lowest place in the school.” He paused. “The lowest point? Why would I…”

“Maybe it's your dreams. Maybe they told you what you didn't know. Can you still remember the dream--er, rather, visions?”

Norman nodded.

“You mentioned that you couldn't see anything in the one from the plane. Nothing besides the walls and supports.”

“And it was warm.”

“So, that probably means it was indoors. The uh, the tapestries you mentioned sound like the decorations they have around the school…”

“There were marble floors, too.” Norman could practically see the gears turning in Dipper's head as he tried to piece everything together.

“... That's no place I know. I mean, the places that have marbled floors around here are older branches. They add on here every once in awhile, remodel other spots…” Dipper sighed and tilted back the rest of his drink. Norman didn't realize he had drank it so fast. Had they really been there so long? A glance around the café showed that almost all the patrons were different. Out the window showed the sun high in the sky.

“We should get going,” Norman said.

“You haven't finished your drink,” Dipper pointed out. Norman stood up and gave him an urgent look. Through he wasn't exactly excited to go back into the cold, Dipper let Norman pull him out of the café. He didn't say anything when Norman gripped onto his wrist like it was a lifesaver.

“Dipper, something bad happened.” Norman whispered to him once they got inside the university commons again.

“Like what? The snow?”

“No. No, I mean… something. I can't explain it.” Norman was shaking from anything but the cold. Dipper frowned and took his hands in his own, breathing on them to try and warm them up. He wanted to calm him down further, but frowned when he saw a police officer walk past. And then another. Another.

“Norman,” Dipper spoke slowly. “I think someone else went missing.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year?

Dipper wished he wasn't right about everything sometimes. Through some rumors he found that a student had gone missing, or had been reported as much. Her room was found to be a mess, scratch marks on her door showed she fought until the end… He hadn't known her, thankfully.

He had gently urged Norman back to the dorm and into the girls’ care, along with the adventure backpack. He told him he was going to check a source of his to find answers, which wasn't necessarily a lie. His heart skipped at how scared Norman looked.

“Please be careful. I can't lose you.” He had said quietly enough for only Dipper to hear. Dipper nodded and gave an encouraging smile before leaving as if he hadn't spoken in the first place.

“You really should tell him,” Bill hummed as soon as he was far enough away from Norman. He didn't take a form this time, just spoke in Dipper's head.

“I know.”

“Really, you're practically leading him on. I like direct men myself, but that's impressive. I'm impressed! You impressed me, Pine Tree. How does that feel?”

Dipper didn't respond to that. He knew that Bill would be grinning if he could.

“Is someone missing?” The human asked instead.

“Yes.”

“Was it the same thing that took the others?”

“Mmhm. You know what that means?”

“Acceleration. The wait time is going to get tighter as he gets more desperate.”

“That's right, Pines. He knows you're onto him. Where you headed?”

“I'm going to check something out.” Dipper wished for a moment that he had brought his map but found he knew where he was going. His feet guided him without a second thought. 

He walked until he came upon a dead end hallway. He counted the bricks on the wall and pressed one in. After a short grinding sound, he pressed aside the tapestry and stepped into the stone hallway.

He shuddered and pulled his hood back up. Though he hadn't asked him to, Bill gave his hand a glove of just enough light to see ahead of him.

“Thank you,” Dipper said quietly. Bill didn't respond, though the student had a feeling he wanted to. Dipper cautiously walked down the hallway with his magic light in front of him. His shoes squeaked in the slightest on the floor and he could vaguely hear the sound of his fingers dragging on the rough wall.

When he was closer to the other end of the hallway, the glove of light grew stronger.

“On your left, Pine Tree.” Bill sounded… uncomfortable?

“What's through here?”

“Something.” Of course, Dipper sold himself to this demon for help and he did the bare minimum to fulfill his side. Bill blamed it on how weak he was at the moment.

“Is there any way for me to open it?” Dipper felt his fingers along the wall. He was practically sweating now.

“That's a good question.” 

As if on instinct, Dipper's hand flew to a previously hidden alcove. He wondered how he didn't see it earlier and looked in. It was a latch.

“Do I want to go in here?” Dipper found himself whispering. He felt a sense of dread like the one Norman mentioned.

“No. Yes. No.”

“Reprise. Is it  _ safe? _ ” Dipper only realized he was out of breath when he had to lean on the wall. Was that the result of the enclosed area or something else?

“Nope. If you wanted anything father from safe, that is your place. Go check it out.” The light on his hand suddenly formed into almost a whip form and opened the latch. A section of wall swung inward.

“ _ Bill!” _ Dipper hissed. The doorway led to stairs. He could see the kind of wooden stairs that older sections of the building often had and wondered how someone could even get building materials into there. He was wondering how the stairs looked pristine when he got a sudden bad feeling. “What's… do you know what…”

“Get out of there,” Bill commanded almost instantly. He wasn't dancing around it this time. “Now.”

The man didn't need any more prompting before he acted. Dipper reached out and grabbed the edge of the wall and used it to pull the door shut. He didn't hesitate to bolt out of there, throwing his body into the tapestry that blocked the door. Thankfully, he stopped himself before he ran into--

“Norman?” Dipper was surprised to see his friend standing in the short walkway that led to the secret hall. Norman looked just as surprised as he was--obviously, he had been expecting to be alone. He was hugging himself and stepped back when he saw Dipper. Dipper ignored him for the moment and hit the trigger again to get the hall door to close.

“What were you doing in there?” Norman asked carefully. Dipper didn't answer. He was busy trying to set the trigger off again so the entrance would close again, however to no avail. There wasn't any way to do it manually.

“Fuck, fuck, come on!” Dipper's palm was becoming raw from how much he hit the brick trigger.

“Dipper, stop.” Norman watched in confusion that turned to horror. “Dipper,  _ stop _ !” Norman reached forward and grabbed Dipper's arm, forcefully pulling him backwards and away from the wall. Their backs hit the opposite wall and for a moment, Dipper fought him. Norman held fast until he calmed down some. Without an explanation, Dipper grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the hidden door. Norman didn't question it until they finally started slowing down.

“What was going  _ on _ ? Who were you talking to?” Despite being alone, Norman whispered his questions. Dipper looked over his shoulder to make sure nothing followed them.

“Did you see anyone around me? Anyone following?” Dipper asked.

“What? I--no. Dipper, what's going on?” Norman noticed that Dipper hadn't let go of his hand but had tightened his grip to the point of pain. He winced. “Dipper, you're hurting me.”

Dipper snapped to reality and let go. Norman immediately drew back and held the hand to his chest, with a fearful look. Dipper's heart dropped when he realized what he had done.

“I'm sorry,” he whispered.

“What's wrong with you?” Norman hadn't meant it harshly but that's exactly how it was received.

“I… can't tell you.”

“You--what? Are you serious?” Norman gave him a hard frown. “If this is because of me, just say it. We're both adults, you don't have to treat me like I won't understand.”

“It's--that's not what I meant.”

“Then what  _ do _ you mean?! Does Mabel even know? Or are you hiding whatever this is from everyone?” His increasingly accusing tone made Dipper both angry and guilty.

“You wouldn't--” Dipper had to take a moment to calm down. He had to lower his voice. “You wouldn't understand. I want you to but you won't.”

“Try me!”

“I can't. It's not your fault.”

“Then why does it feel like you're about to break up with me again?” Norman didn't seem mad anymore, just upset. His voice broke and his expression softened. He had wrapped his arms around himself again, holding himself tightly.

“Norman, I…” Dipper couldn't force himself to look at his friend. “I want help. Believe me. But I can't have it. When this case is over you'll never have to talk to me and you'll be better for it.”

“... Is that really what you think?” Norman whispered. Dipper opened his mouth to speak but shut it again.

“Go back to the dorm, Norman,” He said softly.

“I don't want to.”

“Go.”

“Why are you so adamant no one gets close to you? You act as if you're going to--” Norman paused as things added up in his head.

“Norman, no.” Dipper warned.

“... Die. Oh my god. You talked to B--Dipper! Are you insane?! What is  _ wrong _ with you?!”

“You don't know what you're talking about, so stop it.” Dipper's throat was tight. He'd been caught in his lie and he was going to pay for it. However, Norman wouldn't take it this time. He gave Dipper a hard look.

“I'm going to tell them.” Norman said before turning to head back to the dorm. Dipper grabbed his arm.

“Norman,  _ please, _ don't.” Dipper begged. His face was hot and he felt close to tears. All the anger he directed to Norman was a facade that his real fear was pouring through.

“Let go of me.” Norman didn't look back at him.

“Norman, listen to me, I--” Dipper started again but a moment later, he was forced to let go. He could've sworn he saw a streak of yellowish electricity zap his hand, which burned enough for him to have to draw it to his chest. He was too shocked to react and was left to watch Norman walked back to the dorm without looking back.

“... I'm sorry.” Dipper whispered.


	12. Chapter 12

Norman tried to force himself not to cry, but failed in the end. He kept his head down and hid in the bathroom.

Again.

He'd need to stop doing that.

Although it wasn't the ideal place to hide, he waited in there long after he stopped crying and knew his face wouldn't be red and puffy. He checked himself out in the mirror to make sure he really looked normal--for him, at least--and headed to the dorm. He realized he didn't actually have Dipper to unlock the door for him, so he knocked on Mabel's instead.

She only took a couple of moments to get to the door. She stood and grinned at him.

“Did you find Dip? Or wait, did you find him and then he ditched you?” She moved out of the way so he could get in. Norman shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets.

_Good. She can't tell what really happened._

“Kinda. He wanted to do something and--... no, you were right. He ditched me.” Norman rolled his eyes.

“Ouch. Harsh.” Coraline looked up from her spot on Mabel's bed. “Well, in the meantime, I did find blueprints. They're technically unofficial since they're made by workers in the building from like, twenty years ago. There's still some passages that may be there that could use some exploring since there's overlap on Mabel's map.”

“Yeah. Probably.” Norman slid into one of the chairs at Mabel's table. He spaced out as his friend spoke more, staring blankly at the door separating the two dorms. He had to start thinking of a plan to help Dipper, no matter the cost.

“Norm!” Mabel snapped her fingers by his ear. He flinched and looked up at her.

“Sorry, I--what?” He stuttered. “I didn't, uh, I--... I don't have an excuse, I was spacing. I-I'm sorry.”

“Okay, tell Mama Mabel what happened.” Mabel sat down in front of him.

“What?”

“Have you been drinking?”

“I--no, what? It's like, 10 in the morning.” Norman stared at her in confusion.

“Did Dip like, break up with you?”

“Mabel, what are you _talking_ about?” Norman was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

“Seriously! You think I can't see when something’s wrong with you two?”

“... Dipper thinks so.” Norman muttered.

“Of course Dipper does. He thinks he could carry the sky if no one stopped him.” Mabel rolled her eyes. “That's just how he is.”

Norman shrugged and flexed his hand. It still hurt, his face pulling into a wince when he moved it too much. Mabel's watchful eye didn't miss it.

“What happened there? You okay?”

“Oh, yeah, my hand got, uh…” Norman tried to find an excuse. Mabel's eyes widened.

“He _hurt_ you?” She whispered.

Norman wished Mabel wasn't so good at reading people.

“N-no! No, he… not on purpose.” Norman looked down at his lap, giving up on his attempts at lying. Mabel groaned and rubbed her eyes.

“I swear, that idiot's always trying to be a hero. Did he give you the whole, ‘I'm too dangerous for you to be around me’ spiel?”

“... Yeah.”

“Oh, great, so I'm not crazy. He is.” Mabel looked more annoyed than upset. “We're thinking he's possessed or something.”

“Not by a ghost,” Norman confirmed.

“Something stronger, for sure.”

“What're you thinking?” Norman hoped he was being overly paranoid in his head. Mabel shrugged.

“A god, demon, who knows?” Mabel let her head fall back. “I don't wanna exorcize him. That's usually his job.”

“Do you think it's…?” Norman didn't want to say the name.

“Who?”

“Um… _the_ demon.”

“... What?” Mabel gave him a confused look. Norman pursed his lips. If Mabel--one of the people who dealt with Bill the most--didn't immediately consider him an option, it probably wasn't the reality he had been fearing.

“Maybe the _thing_ here is possessing Dipper to kill those people,” Coraline said randomly. She didn't look up from her computer when she talked.

“... I doubt it. All that stuff… it has to be direct magic. And he'd be sore from it. No matter what thing was possessing him, his body would feel tired after. He seemed fine.” Norman really hoped he was right.

“Yeah. And I'd hear him if his door opened in the night, no matter how quiet he wanted to be.” Mabel brought her head up again.

“You're probably right… so what do we focus on? This case, or Dipper?” Coraline finally brought her eyes up from her computer. Norman frowned and looked to Mabel. The girl wrung her hands absently, carefully thinking about her answer.

“As much as I hate to say it… The case.” Mabel took a deep breath. “Dipper can take care of himself today and… we can only help when he'll let us.” The look of despair on her face wasn't lost on either member.

“He's going to be fine,” Norman found himself saying softly. “If not on his own, we'll make him. That's the Mystery Kids way. For all we know, he's just going to see his, like, girlfriend.” Norman was not expecting from the sudden snort of laughter from both girls.

“Uh, yeah, right.” Coraline grinned. “You know he's gay, right? Like, really gay.”

“What?” Norman's chest filled with momentary panic.

“Dipper's gay. He even has a rainbow tattoo.” Mabel lifted her arm and tapped a spot on her wrist, assumedly where Dipper had said tattoo. Norman can't believe hadn't seen it earlier on.

“... Oh,” he forced out instead. Neither girl mentioned _them_ so maybe they didn't know. That, or they pitied Norman and didn't mention it. Either was fine for now.

“Gay and single, a sad combination.” Coraline clicked her tongue and shook her head in disappointment. Mabel gasped.

“Coraline Jones! That's my _brother!_ ” She threw a nearby pillow at the blue haired girl, who swiped it out of the air.

“What can I say? Your brother's smokin’.”

“ _Wow_ , this is off topic,” Norman spoke quickly and loudly to get their attention. Both girls laughed and agreed.

“Fine, we'll talk about how hot Dipper is later.”

“We will _not!_ ” Mabel gasped. Coraline laughed.

“Fine, fine. Norman and I can talk about it instead.” She winked. “I didn't find a real blueprint for the school because there isn't one. Every original thing was written down and only common maps are anywhere. Anyone can get to that.”

“Aw, dang.”

“But I did find out an older section of the school has been shut down because the floor caved in.”

“Everyone knows that.”

“Mabel. Let me finish.”

“Sorry.”

“And they found some more passages. Now, they blocked them off from public access because of safety reasons. But we're idiots and I now know the passwords to the lockboxes so we could check that out.”

“You figured that out with software design?” Norman raised an eyebrow. Coraline shrugged.

“I never said I didn't learn hacking outside of school.” Coraline took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Mabes, do you have some paper I could write on?”

“Oh, yeah.” Mabel got up and gave her an empty notebook and a pen. Coraline scanned her screen and jotted things down. Mabel and Norman stayed quiet, as if talking would hinder her progress. She handed it back to Mabel. “Bam. Passwords. Don't let anyone see this, but if they ask, it's your father's notes and you're looking to return them.”

“How often do you do this? You sounded like you had that lie ready…” Norman crossed his arms.

“I plead the fifth. You guys ever go on safe construction sites? Yeah, well, this is nothing like that. It's so volatile that workers can't explore or take out the rubbage in fear of risking another collapse. This weather is making work hellish. People can't exactly go in. Ghosts, maybe, but even then. And Norman?” Coraline finally looked at him. He nodded to show he was listening. “Be smart here. We both know you're passionate about Dipper and ghosts, but you need to think of yourself.”

“I do.” Norman nodded again.

“You know what I mean. Trust your gut, alright?” Coraline seemed deathly serious. Norman nodded slowly. He wasn't sure what she was getting at, but he knew that both girls knew both boys were hiding things.

“You say that as if I'm impulsive…” Norman feigned hurt and placed a hand to his chest. His joking voice faded when Coraline didn't change her expression. He dropped his hand and looked away. He felt like hiding again. Mabel gave Coraline a harsh look.

“I know we should split up to cover ground, but I don't want to leave you to walk around.” Mabel looked at Norman when she finished.

“I can handle myself.”

“I know you can. I just need you to know you don't have to alone.” Mabel put her hand on Norman's thigh. Norman wondered if she used magic to know what he was feeling, or if he was that bad at hiding.

“... Thank you. For everything.”

“I could say the same for you,” Mabel said with a kind smile.

“Are we going to check out the collapsed area now?”

“Uh, maybe. Maybe. Or, we could play some games first.” At this point, Norman knew Mabel was trying to keep everyone calm and together. He wished he could express his gratefulness but he just hoped she knew.

“Sounds good to me.” Coraline placed her closed laptop in its case and stood up. “Party in Dipper's room?”

“Oh, _heck_ yeah!” Mabel grinned. “Sorry, language.”

“I think I can let it slide just this once.” Norman nodded, having a hard time hiding his smile.


	13. Chapter 13

The three mostly talked. They had a show on in the background, but they could never really keep their attention on the screen. The girls did most of the talking but made sure Norman had some say. Norman wondered what he did to have people like them in his life.

Norman was surprised when he got a call and sighed when he saw the contact that popped up.

“... Everything okay, Norm?” Coraline asked when she saw Norman's expression. Norman nodded and stood up from Dipper's bed.

“Yeah. Sorry, I have to take this.” Norman stepped into Mabel's room and shut the door behind him. He answered the call a moment before it went to voicemail. “Are you done being crazy?” He asked immediately.

“No,” Dipper responded honestly. “… I do want to apologize. To talk. Are you up for a drive?”

Norman considered this for a moment. One half of him wanted to forgive Dipper, but the other was still hurt. Still upset, considering old wounds had been reopened.

“Yes,” he lied.

“Okay. You're in my room, right?”

“I'm in Mabel's right now.”

“That's good. Tell them you're going to talk to me. I don't want her to worry.”

 _Too late for that,_ Norman thought.

“Got it. Where should I go?” He said instead.

“I'll meet you by the front door of the place. You remember what my car looks like, right?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I'll see you in a few.”

Dipper hung up.

Norman took a deep breath. He didn’t want to lie much more, but he knew the girls would disapprove of his choice either way.

“Hey, I'm, uh, I'm gonna go talk to Dipper,” Norman spoke from the doorway. Both girls gave him a suspicious look, Coraline’s being borderline accusatory.

“I'll come with.” Mabel stood up. Norman shook his head quickly.

“No. I mean, it's between us. I don't think you should check out the collapsed part of the building without us, but if you do anyway… be careful? Please?”

“Come on, Norman… Okay. Hold on, give me your phone.” Mabel put one hand on her hip and reached the other one out to him expectantly. Norman hesitantly handed over his phone. She went to work on it and returned it a minute later. “There. Mine and Coraline’s numbers are in there now. If you ever need us, give us a ring.”

“Thank you, Mabel.” Norman smiled at his ever-so-considerate friend. He put his phone in his pocket and turned to leave. Before he made it to the door he paused and turned back to Mabel. He spread out his arms. Mabel paused, considering for a moment how little he liked to be touched, before running forward and embracing him. She hugged him tightly enough to halt his breath.

“Be careful. You _and_ my idiot brother.” She whispered into his chest. He hugged her back and tried not to hug her as closely as she was him. It was a pretty hard challenge.

“Okay. Am I the stupid friend now?”

“It depends on how you are when you come back. Don't get drunk.”

“It's the middle of the day?” Norman chuckled.

“You clearly don't know Dipper.”

“I'm not twenty-one yet.”

“He is. Don't do weird shit.”

“How much do you doubt me?” Norman laughed and stepped away from her.

“Uh, you remember our summers together, right?” Mabel cocked an eyebrow, a teasing grin on her face.

“But I'm the responsible one in the group, remember?” He gave her an innocent look, slowly inching toward the door. She snorted.

“Don’t play dumb. None of us are, don't act innocent.”

“Fair, fair… I'll probably burn down a building. Sober, though.” Norman winked and slipped out the door, trying his hardest not to laugh at Mabel's groan.

Norman tugged his hood over his head as he walked to the entrance of the university. At least, he thought it was the entrance. Man, did he have bad luck with doors recently… looking through the glass doors showed it was still snowing. Right beyond the curb he could see Dipper's car.

Norman paused for a moment to mentally prepare himself before he stepped outside. He climbed into the car to Dipper's surprise--he looked like he was focused on nothing, maybe even talking to himself. Norman figured it was a habit he’d carried for a while so he didn’t question it.

“Hi, Dipper.” Norman shuddered as the cold grasp of the winter air lingered on his body. The car was already uncomfortably warm--he wondered how long it took Dipper to gain the confidence to call.

“Hey.” Dipper's fingers flexed on the wheel.

“Are we going somewhere specific?”

“The beach is nice this time of year.” Dipper shrugged. Norman snorted despite himself.

“When... you said we had to talk, what did you mean about?” Norman strapped in and messed with the edge of his sleeves when he was finished. He noticed Dipper had his sleeves rolled up and he stared for a moment, taking in the tattoos on his wrist.

 _Mabel was right,_ he thought. _He has a rainbow tattoo. How did I not see that earlier?_

“... There's a lot to talk about, isn't there? I'm not entirely sure where to start. Nothing’s particularly easy.” Dipper pulled away from the university entrance without even glancing at Norman.

“Are you saying that our relationship is about as difficult to figure out as a legitimate murder case?”

“... I wouldn't say it _that_ way, but, uh… yeah. In terms of icebreakers.”

“As long as you don't crash the car or abandon me in the wilderness, then okay.”

“Do you really think I would do that?” Dipper glanced at his friend.

“Mm, I would.” Norman shrugged in a very nonchalant fashion. Dipper gave him a confused look, which was the goal. “Yes, I'm joking.”

“... Oh. Right. Sorry I'm, uh, on edge.”

“So. The supernatural or us? I can talk about either.” Norman put his hands in his pockets to hide the fact they were clenched tightly enough to hurt.

“Can-can we lighten the mood first? If I'm less scared I won't make as many stupid mistakes. Emphasis on ‘ _as many._ ’ I won’t make any promises.”

Norman found himself smiling. _That sounded like the Dipper he knew._

“Sure. Any ideas?”

“Still like music?”

“Was that rhetorical?” At this, Dipper laughed.

“Okay, that was a dumb question... My phone’s kinda dead, wanna play your music?”

Norman knew that the radio was a very viable option but Dipper probably wanted to build some more trust by letting Norman play his own music.

It worked.

“I'll just, uh, put my playlist on shuffle.” Norman connected his phone to the radio using the aux cord that was already plugged in. “You can't make fun of me for it, though.”

“Hey, judging music is the lowest form of bullying. Who do you take me for?”

“I don't think you want me to answer that question.” Norman wondered for a second if Dipper would like his music. He decided he didn't care and let the song play.

“... I know this song. It's called Ghost, isn't it?” Dipper's fingers tapped on the wheel. Norman nodded in confirmation. “... Don't tell me your playlist is all based on the supernatural.”

“Then I won't tell you.” Norman smiled. Dipper laughed and nodded.

“Fair, fair. I can't say anything about that, I'd be a hypocrite.”

“... So. The case. Murder, ghosts, oh, my.” Norman chuckled to himself to try and seem as if he wasn’t tense.

“Right. You have questions, right? For me.”

“Yeah, I do. Why were you in that hallway? I thought we established that was dangerous. Remember this?” Norman gestured to his neck. There were thin cuts running down his neck from where he scratched himself. Dipper glanced at him for a moment and winced.

“... I know. I had a feeling there was something there but I didn't want to make you guys go back there in case something dangerous happened.”

“But since _you_ went, it's okay?” Norman rolled his eyes. “You're so… selfish, Dipper.”

“I--I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.”

“Right. Now that that's over, why were you _really_ there? You can't think I'm that stupid.”

Dipper winced and gripped the wheel. He hoped that he wouldn't have asked.

‘Moment of truth, Pine Tree.’ Bill hummed in his mind.

“I think you know. I wish you didn't.” Dipper swallowed the lump in his throat. “I… I made a Deal.”

“With who, Dipper?” Norman knew the answer. He was hoping he was wrong, but he _knew._

“... Bill. I made a Deal with Bill.”

“How? I thought he was gone!”

“Yeah, well, so did I. It was, um, four years ago? when I heard talking in my head. The moment he possessed me when I was twelve, he had an alcove in my mind where part of his… own ‘conscious’ remained. He just wasn't powerful enough to do anything.” Dipper spoke carefully.

“So to solve that, you made a Deal that would let him?”

“That's not what… Look.” Dipper reached up one hand and--

“Why are you taking off your shirt, exactly?”

“Damn it, Norman, let me finish.” He wasn't taking it off at all. He was only unbuttoning the top until his collarbone was revealed. When he pulled aside the fabric, Norman frowned.

“A sigil?” The lines in Dipper's chest might have been chalk or paint, might have been fresh cuts or scars. For some reason Norman couldn't discern.

“Yes. I know a lot more magic than I did in the past. I couldn't do anything to destroy Bill so I... made sure he couldn't destroy anyone else. This sigil keeps him trapped in my mind and my mind alone. When this case came around, with the bodies being the way they were… I couldn't do anything to help. I was so helpless and I hated that... You haven't seen the photos yet, have you? Of the victims.”

“No. What do the photos have to do with anything?” Norman felt the suffocating heat in his throat. He didn’t want to move, to turn it down himself or ask the other to for him.

“The victims looked like us. Me and Mabel. It might be a coincidence, but it might also be an MO. Maybe it's something this psycho is into and Mabel and I are potential victims. I didn't want her in danger so I… I made a Deal.”

“If he isn't as powerful then why make a Deal?”

“Because he's a slippery bastard and will always know more about any given situation than I do. The information he gives will always be better than what I find alone.”

“Can you… does-does he talk to you? Like, regularly?”

“Sadly.”

‘Hey!’ Bill scoffed. ‘I am a de _light_!’

Dipper ignored the demon. He found it hard to button his shirt up with one hand while also driving. Norman reached over and did it for him and they both pretended as if they weren't feeling anything.

“What was it for?” Norman spoke after a long silence. “The Deal. What did you give up?”

“I didn't sell my soul this time.”

“‘ _This time_?’”

“Sorry. Badly timed joke. When this is over, if we solve it within winter break, then I'll remove the sigil and he'll be free to make whatever form he wants and leave us alone. If not in two weeks, then he stays.”

‘That's not all, love.’ Bill reminded him in a sing-song voice.

“... No wonder you were pissed at me and Coraline when we came here,” Norman muttered.

“I wasn't--... okay. Maybe a little. I’m sorry. If you, and now her, are here, that means this thing gets solved quickly. That I won't have the chance to get out of my Deal.”

“It sounds like a lose-lose situation. You either have him with you forever, or he gets more power and gets as dangerous as he was before.”

“... I know, Norman. I know it is.”

Norman reached over and put his hand on top of Dipper's. His hand was surprisingly cold.

Considering how the two were feeling now, Norman figured the relationship talk could wait a little bit longer.

“We're going to help you out of this, Dipper. We're going to save everyone, and we're going to save you.”

Norman just wished he felt as confident as he sounded.


	14. Chapter 14

“What do you think they're doing? Other than getting in trouble. Like usual.” Coraline sighed and let her head fall back. The two were playing video games but, well, they were just annoyed.

“I don't know. Making out in Dipper's car or something?” Mabel sighed as well and placed her controller in her lap. She was ready to get up and fight some ghosts if need be. Anything but sitting down. “I know he told us to wait for them but I'm so  _ bored _ . I want to check out that place.”

“It takes a special type of girl to be excited to enter a broken down building.” Coraline laughed. “We don't have to go in the depths of it, by the way, it wouldn't be safe. You guys have a spirit box? Or any other ghost device? If we don't have Norm we need the next best thing.”

“Uh, yeah, we have a spirit box. Dipper had it last so we'll have to find it.” Mabel stood up and went to Dipper's bookshelves. She moved his things around before replacing them as best as she could.

“Ooh, time to go through Dipper's stuff!” Coraline rubbed her hands together with a grin.

“Oh, please. He's Dipper. He puts passwords on his passwords. Anything interesting is probably hidden under twelve layers of trust issues.” Mabel laughed. “I just need the spirit box, not his life story. Been there, done that.”

“But you're his sister! You have to know how to get through those blockades.” Coraline moved things aside to try and find the box too.

“Well, I do know his laptop password…” Mabel tapped her chin thoughtfully.

“Whoa! Really?”

“No. Stop being nosy.” Mabel made a face at Coraline who returned the gesture.

“You Pines, I swear… oh! I found it.” Coraline raised the spirit box in the air. “You finally got a good one?”

“Yep. It's still handmade, though, just of quality. So be careful with it, butterfingers.” Mabel wagged a finger at her. Coraline rolled her eyes.

“Who do you take me for, really? How far are we gonna go?”

“Not enough to be in any serious danger. We'll go for a few minutes, see if we get any hits on the box.” Mabel shrugged and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “It's better if we wait. After all, if we both get trapped in a shift of rubble then we won't have anyone to help us.”

“That was a pretty grim guess of what’ll happen, Mabes.” Coraline raised an eyebrow.

“Honey, life is grim. We're investigating a murder case, remember?” She chuckled. “Let me find a purse that can fit the box so we don't get weird looks.”

“All about that aesthetic. Even on a murder case. Someone's got priorities.” Coraline nodded approvingly. Mabel rolled her eyes and went back to her room, rifling through a box before successfully pulling out a purse.

“Y’know, I got out of the whole ‘neon colors’ phase when I was fourteen but the love is still there.” Mabel smiled when she showed her friend the iridescent bag.

“Are you sure you're not a dragon?”

“Mm, no. Don't tell anyone.” Mabel took the spirit box and carefully put it in the bag. It seemed to fit perfectly. Besides that, she put four batteries in there as well.

“You Pines, always so prepared. How admirable… isn't the spirit box just a radio?” Coraline pulled on her jacket.

“Yep. It's a frequency scanner but I changed it so it wouldn't stop on just one. Technically, we both have a box--this is mine--but Dipper's spending more time on his. But hey, if it works it works.” Mabel shrugged.

“I'll never get over how just… cool you two are. Is that weird to say?”

“Aww, you're sweet. And observant.” Mabel smiled and put the strap of the bag over her shoulder. “Grab that flashlight on the table and let's head out. Mama needs some adventure!”

 

As they made their way to the area of investigation, it turned out that entering a collapsed area was harder than the girls imagined.

Outside of the tarps covering the entrances, ‘do not enter’ tape, and more do not enter signs, there were two legitimate police officers standing around to deter any trespassers.

“How are we going to get in now?” Mabel groaned. They were inconspicuously around the corner of the wing’s entrance trying to plan.

“I don't know… I guess they amped security because of the recent deaths and stuff.” Coraline huffed and ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, come on. We’ve solved worse problems than getting past local cops, right?”

“These cops can actually do their job!” Mabel whined. Coraline patted her shoulder.

“What if I distracted them? Y’know, lost puppy rouse?”

“I think that’s illegal in Oregon.”

“What if I… warned them about a broken window?” Coraline looked to her friend,

“There’s no broken windows around here?”

“Not yet.” Without another word, Coraline walked over to a nearby window. Though she had to step on her toes some to open the latch, she managed to open it and let the frigid air infiltrate the warmth of the building. She shrugged off her jacket and wrapped it around her fist. She sucked in a deep breath and slammed it down into the window. The glass broke easily. She quickly closed the window and wiped the glass off her jacket before pulling it back on. She cleared her throat.

“OH MY  _ GOD! _ ” She screamed and fell back in a fake display of fear. Mabel pressed herself against the wall as both officers ran to Coraline. She scuttled away from the broken glass, even cutting the palms of her hand on some of the glass on her way. “Officers! Oh my god! Something just broke the window!” She gasped.

Mabel grinned and noted that she needed to thank Coraline later before she essentially ran to the taped off area as fast as she could without making too much noise. She ducked under the several lines of tape and kept an ear out for any sign the officers had seen through the rouse. As she slid through the boarded up archway--she wished she were small as she was when she was twelve, that would make it  _ so _ much easier--she took a look at Coraline, who seemed to be a world away. Though she couldn’t hear details, Mabel guessed that Coraline was gasping and sputtering as she tried to explain to the ever-so-helpful policemen that something broke as soon as she walked near! Mabel took a gulp of fresh air and ducked into the large hallway.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content warning for: Blood, mentions of gore, death, teenage angst. Not necessarily in that order.

While Mabel made her way to where the hallway widened, she grew confused.

“Nothing’s collapsed,” she said aloud before clamping a hand over her mouth to silence herself. Her sneakers made the slightest sound as she walked along the tiled floor and no matter where she looked--down hallways, in rooms--this wing seemed fine to her. She used her phone’s flashlight to search the tall ceilings and sprawling floors for any sign of structural damage but found nothing.

_ This is so strange! _ She thought.  _ Maybe this whole situation goes deeper than we originally thought? _

Mabel squeaked when her phone went off. She scrambled to check what notification she received.

 

Coraline: I got em away, they haven’t called for. Backup

Coraline: Hurry

Mabel: Thank you!!!! I owe you!!!!

Coraline: Dont text details ill see u later

Mabel: Stay safe!

Coraline: U too

 

Mabel smiled. She loved her friends so, so much. When she lowered her arm, she was reminded of why she was really here. She was so distracted by the lack of damage in the building she forgot she even had the spirit box with her. She was deep enough in the wing for no one to hear her (hopefully) so she stopped and removed it from her bag. She sat on the floor with her back to the wall and turned the box on. She winced in expectancy, but relaxed when she remembered how quiet this spirit box was.

“Hello. My name’s Mabel, I go to this school as a student,” Mabel spoke in a clear voice. She placed the box in her lap and turned off her flashlight to conserve the battery. She shuddered at the sudden darkness. “This box in my hand is a spirit box. It’s constantly scanning frequencies so--so if you can talk, it’ll pick it up as best as it can. If anyone is here, please say something.”

Mabel closed her eyes and paid attention to the white noise that played from the box in her lap. It wasn’t hard to tell when it switched frequencies, and the sound was almost nostalgic as it reminded her of the first time she and Dipper broke a radio to make a spirit box that hardly lasted one adventure. They preferred having Norman around instead. She was glad her friend was even around now, really. Her breath caught when the radio coughed out what sounded like words.

**‘SOME--TH-INnnG,”** It seemed to spit out. Mabel grinned--success! Sometimes nothing would come in for hours, so she was glad this was quick.

“Do you have a name?” She asked. After an extended silence, she didn’t hear a response, so she tried again. “Why is this wing cut off?”

**“REEP--”** The box coughed.  **“BON-bown-”**

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Reep-bon? What are you trying to say?” She really hoped this spirit (or whatever was talking to her) wasn’t speaking in another language.

**“NOT--DEAD.”** At this, Mabel frowned. She felt a bolt of fear run through her, but pushed through anyway.

“You’re not dead?”

**“SIX.”**

_ Six? _ Why did the number make Mabel… Feel something?

“Six what? Six people? Days?” She prompted. This session was especially good, much longer than most.

**“INTER-R-R--”** The box stuttered. Mabel could feel the box warming up in her lap. _She just needed a little bit more!_ **“MORTUM.”**

“Inter mortum?” The word made sense in some fashion, though she couldn’t piece it together now. The box gave no response. “Please, I need more! Everyone is in danger!”

“ **PROPH--”**

“What?”

“ **PROPHET.** ”

Mabel gulped.

**“PROPHET. PROPHET. PROPHET.”** The box chanted in altering tones.

**“R--RuuUU--** ”

“Ruh?”

**“RUh--** ” the box was interrupted by a mangle of static. “ **_RUN._ ** ”

Mabel didn’t need further prompting. She shut off the box and shoved it haphazardly in her bag before practically sprinting for the exit. She realized much too late that she should have been more cautious with her steps, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t check for police presence as she escaped the cut off wing. She just ran. 

 

Norman and Dipper weren’t surprised when they returned to an empty dorm. Norman was surprised they made the ride home full of conversation about cryptids and nothing too… Deep or depressing.

“I hope they’re being safe…” Norman sighed. Looking at the time, it was obvious they had spent several hours at the library. Norman looked at the papers they spent so long looking at and marking that were now lying innocently on the counter. He shut his eyes for a moment, trying to ignore the evil that could have been hiding within the file. He could also pretend that he had learned everything he could and wasn’t missing anything important deep in the wording.

“I don’t know about you but I am tired as fuck,” Dipper said as he walked to his bed and basically fell onto it. He made sure to move his laptop until it was securely underneath the thing before relaxing. “You?”

“Not really.” Norman didn’t want to sleep. “We should see how the girls are doing.”

“Mabel texted me that she had to help Coraline escape some questioning--”

“ _ Questioning? _ ” Norman interrupted.

“Police trouble. They’re fine, don’t worry. She said that she’d be back with info but she didn’t know when.”

Norman nodded and leaned against the back of the couch.

“Do you want to lay down?” Dipper’s offer made the medium tense up.

“I should organize the-the papers,” he lied.

“... Norman, lay down Or--sit down. We should talk.”

“What about?” Norman didn’t move.

“Pick. I’ve been holding back too much from you for too long,” Dipper said glumly.

“Why?” Norman heard himself asking. The questions that should have followed ran through Norman’s mind like they were racing. He couldn’t find one to say, to ask.

“... Did you ever meet my parents?” Dipper started off with his best guess.

“I don’t remember. Not really.”

“Good. They were really, really shitty.” Dipper’s hand curled around the sheets on his bed. Norman nodded--that much he remembered. He consoled Dipper a lot about his parents when they were younger. He wouldn’t doubt they maintained their shittiness to this day. “... It was them.”

“What was?”

“... I can’t blame them for it all. I was too cowardly. I found out that summer that they were homophobic. I broke up with you because I didn’t want to risk them finding out.” Dipper’s voice was quiet. He felt horrible already.

“... Why did you never tell me?” Norman pressed his lips together.

“I don’t know.” Dipper shut his eyes.

“You  _ don’t know _ ?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You could have said that five years ago, Dipper. I didn’t care that you broke up with me, that much I can understand, but… You just… never… talked to me again.” Norman leaned against the back of the couch. He held onto his own arms.

“... I’m sorry.”

Norman let out a quiet sigh. “And the only time you have talked to me is because Mabel made you. Because you needed help.”

“I… I didn’t--”

"Oh, right. You didn't even want help because you already got some. Right? If it weren't for Mabel and the sick monster causing this mess, we... We never would have talked." Norman was aware of how shaky his breath was. He had managed to stop himself from yelling, or from being too accusatory, but... "I missed you. It's-it's not bad that you broke up with me. That's your decisions, your reasons, okay? But the way you acted as if--as if  _ nothing had happened… _ ” Norman covered his face with both hands.

Dipper didn’t know what to say.

“As if… I never existed…” Norman trailed off again.

“I can’t say sorry anymore.” Dipper said quietly. He couldn’t tell if Norman was crying, but he hoped desperately he wasn’t.

_ ‘Fix it,’ _ Bill spoke in the back of Dipper’s head.

_ ‘I’m trying,’  _ he thought back. Dipper got up and cautiously walked over to Norman.  _ He’s crying, _ he realized with another pang of guilt that seemed to be filling up his lungs _. _ Dipper knew he wasn’t good at comforting--even when it came to his other half, he could only console Mabel so much--but what could he do now? The relationships he made always crumbled in his hands. This was living proof.

“Norman.” Dipper's voice came out a bit choked. The other barely even looked up. His eyes seemed to glow in the shadow cast on his face. “I never forgot about you. I didn't stop thinking about you. I-I never meant for you to hate me, or--”

“Dipper...” Norman’s cracked voice made Dipper’s heart shatter.

“... I’m sorry, Norman.” Dipper’s shaking hands pulled Norman’s away from his face. The sight of tears felt like a harpoon in his chest. “I never stopped caring for you.”

“I-I don’t know if I can--” Norman looked down.

“I don’t want you to forgive me. I don’t deserve it. Just… Let me comfort you, just this once. I need to fix some of what I’ve done to you.” Dipper realized he was still holding Norman’s wrists and he let go. He didn’t want the other to feel trapped. Norman stared at him through blurry eyes and lunged forward to wrap his arms around Dipper. To say he was surprised was an understatement.

‘ _ Hug him back, dumbass. _ ’ Bill muttered. Dipper slowly lifted his arms to hold his friend as he choked out breaths. Dipper shut his eyes and just…  _ held  _ him. He couldn’t ever describe that feeling if anyone asked--it felt like he was dying and being revived at the same time.

“ _ Of course I don’t hate you! _ ” Norman practically sobbed. Dipper bit back the urge to remind him that he should.

It took awhile for the silence to come. It came in peacefully like clouds and lingered over the two like fresh snow.

“... That was really dramatic, wasn’t it?” Norman muttered. Dipper bit his lip, a little off guard by the sudden comment.

“Eh, I wasn’t going to say anything…” Dipper hummed. Norman snickered.

“Shut up, man. I’m sensitive.”

“Glad to see one thing’s stayed the same.”

“ _ Hey! _ I wasn’t the one who cried about the ending of  _ Ducktective 2: Sparking Dance. _ ”

“Wh-hey! You were upset  _ with _ me!”

“I was asleep most of the movie. I was really only awake when you shook me to point out the details.”

“ _ Norman! _ ”

“What? It wasn’t that shocking. You saw it coming, too.” Norman laughed.

“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t deavestating! Seriously! Just because it made it obvious that Ducktective--” Dipper groaned, interrupting his own rant. “It sucked!”

“Yeah, okay, Dipper.” The silence laid on them again.

“... Norman? Do you… Do you really not hate me?” Dipper asked. 

“... I wanted to. Believe me, I wanted to. But… No. I never did. I still don’t.”

“...  _ You should have. _ ” Dipper muttered. “What I did was horrible.”

“Kinda. But I don’t hate you for it.”

“God damn it, Norman. You can’t just trust everyone who hurt you because they said sorry.” Dipper felt frustrated.

“You’re not everyone. You’re the marvelous Dipper Pines.” Norman joked.

“Stop that.”

“Stop beating yourself up.”

“ _ You  _ should be the one beating me up.”

“Eh, fighting dumb people was more your thing than mine.”

“Did you just call me dumb?”

“Maybe. Would I be wrong?” Norman smiled. Dipper wanted to send a quip back at him, but something in his chest seemed to drop like a stone. Down, down, _ down. _ It reminded him that he didn’t deserve his friend.

“I’m going to text Mabel and see how she’s doing.” Dipper pulled away without looking at Norman. Norman rubbed the back of his neck, feeling as if the room had dropped in temperature, as if an apparition was causing this action. A glance around the room showed nothing of the sort.

“... You can’t avoid--” Norman began to say.

“I’ll call her.” Dipper said, already having taken his phone out to tap on the screen. When he turned away from Norman, he could see that Dipper was struggling to enter his password. Norman let out a breath, but paused when he felt… something wet. He quickly brought his hand to his face.

_ Blood. _

When he pulled his hand away, the blood seemed too dark to be human. When some dripped on his hand, he realized it wasn’t coming from him _. _ He looked up and his eyes widened in shock.

Reality seemed to burn at the edges of his vision like tinder in a raging fire. In the dead center was a person. Her brown hair fell around her head like dead vines on a tree. Blood was covering her face, seemingly from her eyes, nose, and mouth. He couldn’t recognize her, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. Her eyes seemed to be so dark they could be caves, and her limbs were marred with wounds. There wasn’t a glow about her.  _ She wasn’t dead. _ Not yet.

“ **_Help me._ ** ” She croaked with unmoving, bloody lips.

“Who are you?” Norman asked her in a voice that was supposed to be confident.

“ **_Help me._ ** ” She repeated, over and over. Norman stumbled away after another drop of her blood hit his face. He covered his head with his hands, trying to get the sudden, crushing pain in it to stop. His face felt wet again despite nothing falling on it. He moved his hand to his face to confirm the nosebleed that was pouring out without any sign of stopping. At least it was his own blood this time. He could vaguely hear his own name, but when he tried to look around him, reality seemed to crumple further.

“Where are you?!” Norman cried as he forced himself to look back up. The bloody woman didn’t change her mantra. “Please! Stop this! It  _ hurts! _ ” Words repeatedly spoken were quiet in his head. One, at least.

“...an. Norman.” A girl’s voice said clearly. It was soft like a child; familiar like someone he used to know. Norman’s eyes stayed glued on the person on the ceiling. It wasn’t coming from her. He looked down and saw a vague yellow glow in front of him. Was that the source of the voice? Why did it feel so… Familiar? “Norman...  _ Norman. _ ”

“Norman!” Dipper’s voice became loud in his ears as the man grabbed Norman’s shoulders to shake him. Norman’s vision blacked out for a moment. He blinked rapidly. At some point, he opened them to see Dipper staring at him in panic. A look down at himself showed blood on his shirt. A glance up showed the ceiling to be the same boring white it was before, with no bloodied woman in sight.

“I’m... bleeding?” He muttered. Dipper said something more, leaving for a moment to push some tissues into Norman’s face. Norman figured the nosebleed was the most real part of  _ that _ \--an inconvenient side effect of the visions that sometimes pushed him out of his own mind.

“It’s okay. I’m here.” Dipper held the tissues to his face until Norman’s hands had enough feeling in them to hold them himself.

“I saw her.”

“Wha--you saw someone?” Dipper’s heart felt like thunder in his head.

‘ _ Man, that’s freaky!’ _ Bill chuckled.

“I--I think it was the girl--that--the one that---” Norman felt his words failing him. Dipper helped him sit down properly, cupping his hand below his face to avoid more blood from falling onto the floor. Norman felt out of his head.

“It’s okay, Norman. I’m here.” Dipper said to try and comfort his friend. It was disconcerting seeing Norman stare blankly with bloodied tissues stopping more blood from pouring on him when he had been crying out at nothing only moments before. Dipper just wanted to help, but this was different than what he was used to.

“... The girl. That went missing... I saw her.” Norman finally pieced together.

“You--she’s a ghost now? That doesn’t m--”

“No.” Norman cut him off. Dipper gave him a confused look. “She’s not dead. Something is keeping her alive. She wasn’t glowing  _ at all. _ She was covered in blood and wounds but she’s… She’s not dead. God, Dipper,  _ she should be dead. _ Why isn’t she dead?”

“I don’t know, Norm. We’re going to figure that out.” Dipper said soothingly. Norman nodded numbly, letting his eyes drift back to the ceiling where the girl used to be as her voice continued to echo in the back of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to apologize for the unannounced hiatus. At the publishing of the last chapter, I had problems in my personal life and health. I hope to publish chapters more often but I'm afraid the 'on Fridays' schedule isn't gonna be in play until I get more chapters in queue.
> 
> If I need to put a TL;DR in the next chapter to compensate for the possibly triggering content, leave a comment to let me know.


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